


Life at NYU

by naomi24



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - College/University, Chatting & Messaging, M/M, Mpreg, Scenting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2019-11-12 09:43:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 29,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18008561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/naomi24/pseuds/naomi24
Summary: The Kim brothers moved to New York to settle down after years of traveling due to their parents' jobs. Jongdae went ahead to NYC while the other three will follow next year.This story is about how they settled and find their own happiness.A mix with SNS AU, so it'll be posted in Twitter too. Check out @ChenlayAu for the tweets.





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> I know nothing about NY or NYU. Please don't expect any real facts.
> 
> Some inspiration from Meteor Garden but doesn't follow that storyline.
> 
> Each chapter update will be short, mixed with some links to tweets.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Check out **[main tweet thread](https://twitter.com/ChenlayAu/status/1099754102328745984)** for updates on tweets.

**Characters facts:**

 

**Brothers**

 

Minseok:

\- oldest one, but the only alpha in the family

\- overly protective of his brothers, thinks that they're still kids

\- finished his BA in Economics. Started his Law program and had to transfer to NYU. He's now in his second year.

\- works in the family business

 

Junmyeon

\- tries to be an example towards his younger brothers, since he's the oldest omega

\- in his last year of university, studying Business

\- too innocent to understand why alphas like to help him

 

Jongdae

\- second year in Software engineering. Started NYU before his brothers since his bff (Baekhyun) will join him.

\- currently in LA doing an internship for a semester

\- always misses his brothers...and a certain alpha, but he's not going to admit it!!

 

Jongin

\- feels nervous about starting a new city

\- loves being babied by his brothers, which is why his brothers' protectiveness is unending

\- gullible to being tricked

\- hopes he can make a friend

\- misses Taemin, who's currently in Seoul

 

**F4**

 

Yifan

\- leader of F4

\- in his last year of mechanical engineering

\- loves fixing old stuff and making it work again

\- bad with technology

\- the voice of reason when things goes awry (except for Luhan)

\- protective of Sehun even though he's not part of F4

 

Yixing

\- the brain behind F4 success

\- in his first year of Law. Recently finished his BA in business

\- great at manipulation

\- Luhan's voice of reason

\- overworked and always tired

\- misses a certain omega and counting down the days

 

Luhan

\- face of F4

\- last year in Software Engineering

\- doesn't even study, but get perfect grades

\- enjoys the attention he gets from other students

\- always have a new 'flavor of the week' hanging off his arm

\- intrigued by Baekhyun, but Yixing said off limit

 

Chanyeol

\- last year in mechanical engineering

\- loves fixing old cars and motorcycles

\- heir to Park Ent, which builds engines for diff machines

\- F4 unattainable member, a real player

\- protective of Sehun because they're childhood friends

 

**Side Characters**

 

Sehun

\- starting NYU this year

\- feeling nervous, but knows he has F4 protection

\- also want to make friends with people who doesn't associate him with F4

\- likes being babied, especially when F4 buys him food

\- spoiled because he's an only child and an omega

 

Baekhyun

\- Jongdae's bff since they were kids

\- always coming over uninvited

\- been in love with Minseok since forever, but the elder is clueless af

\- studying software engineering with Jongdae

\- has a love/hate relationship with Luhan due to his competitive nature

 

Kyungsoo

\- member of acapella group

\- Baekhyun claims they're good friends, but its all one sided

\- studying Business in 2nd year

\- an alpha with no chill

\- doesn't understand why omegas find him endearing. The opposite of Junmyeon.

\- will he find love? Idk... haven't decided

 

Heechul

\- Heechul is their cousin who lives in LA with his mate Hangeng

\- Doesn't understand the concept of boundaries/feeling embarassed

\- works as games tester at home. Can be heard cursing at 3 am

\- trying to start a family

 

**Anymore new characters will be added later in this chapter**

 


	2. 1 year ago - Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few scenes from a year ago.

 

 

********

 

 

Jongdae should have known that the train would be crowded at 10 am but he was hoping that it'd lessen. It seems his initial assumption was wrong, and he's squished between a beta, who smells too musky for his taste, and an alpha, who keeps giving him a lecherous stare. He keeps his gaze down and hopes that this alpha won't grab his ass or touches him inappropriately.

 

Luckily, his stop is next and he only has to endure 2 more minutes of this invasion of personal space. As soon as the door opens, he walks quickly and releases a relieved sigh. He's supposed to meet Baekhyun in school 30 minutes ago. The elder is already there, from his early morning class.

 

He usually would feel guilty for being so late, but he's lost half of the time, and even though he's been to many countries, his English is still not as fluent as the people here. Therefore, he's relying on Google Maps and his bad sense of direction.

 

To make it worst, he doesn't really notice his surroundings whenever he walks, looking at the map. It's not new for him to walk into a pole, or to bump someone.

 

But it is new to hear the people around him gasp loudly when he bumped into this alpha.

 

His first thought was to say sorry, a hundred times. His second thought was to pick up his phone, that's laying next to the alpha.

 

Yet, when he looks up to apologize, he freezes at the sight of a handsome face and the scent of lamb kebabs wafting to his nose. He doesn't realize he's been staring so long that the alpha is looking worried.

 

“Are you alright?” the alpha asks again, this time there's a concerned hand on his arm.

 

And he can hear the voices behind him.

 

_“Oh my god, he touched him!”_

 

_“He's so lucky,” someone weeps._

 

_“Why didn't I bump into him too?”_

 

He doesn't know why those people are sticking around for an accidental bump, but he knows he should focus and pay attention to his surroundings better.

 

“I'm so sorry,” he quickly replies, cringing at the accent in his voice. “I was lost and I wasn't looking...sorry!”

 

He quickly grabs his phone, reflexively bows in apology and rushes away before he can become more of an embarrassment to his family.

 

The alpha seems to find that amusing and he smiles, wondering if he has ever seen that omega before.

 

 

*********

 

 

Jongdae manages to arrive on time on the main entrance of the building. He's breathless and he's still trying to catch his breath by the time Baekhyun finds him pacing around.

 

“Jongdae!” Baekhyun screams loud enough to startle the other students. “You looked so pathetic, catching your breath like an old man.”

 

“Hey! We're both old now,” the younger glares, but he knows that the elder has a point.

 

He really should exercise more often.

 

Baekhyun grins at his reply before pulling his friend into a hug. He's known to be quite affectionate at random hours, and Jongdae can't deny the free affection. It's what his omega wolf wants, to be loved, even if it's given by another omega.

 

“So... I was thinking we should check out that burger place I saw. I heard it makes the _best_ fries, and I need carbs,” the elder starts to explain.

 

“It's not even lunch time yet. I thought we were supposed to walk around and get familiar,” Jongdae complains.

 

“But we can do that anytime,” the elder pouts. “I want to try the burger place.”

 

“I’m not even hungry.”

 

Baekhyun scoffs as he knows that Jongdae is a _liar_. The younger can pretend all he wants, but Baekhyun can bet that he'll be hungry within the hour.

 

“Sure you're not,” he ends up replying sarcastically. “You can just sit there and listen to me chew.”

 

Jongdae glares at him, feeling offended, but he knows that he can't win this argument. Baekhyun will undoubtedly whine and complain, so he might as well comply and skip the whole dramatics.

 

Plus, after smelling that lamb kebab when he bumped into that alpha, he's suddenly craving for something salty. Maybe some fries will ease his craving.

 

“Fine, whatever,” the younger ends up saying. “You better eat fast, though. I want to make sure we find the right classroom.”

 

“Don't worry, babydoll,” Baekhyun teases. “You’ve got _me_. You won't get lost.”

 

Jongdae scoffs at his words, but he resists on commenting about how they got lost on their first day in New York _because_ of Baekhyun. Not to mention how they took the wrong train and wasted the day trying to get back.

 

As they walk to the burger place, Jongdae still feels out place in this city. Everyone dresses so differently here, and he bets that they can tell that he’s a tourist by a single glance. He really hopes he can adjust well without missing home and his brothers much.

 

As they walk into the burger joint, he immediately regrets agreeing, because this place is so damn packed. He doesn’t know how long they’ll end up waiting in line, but he hopes that it won’t take an hour.

 

“I can’t believe I agreed to this,” Jongdae whines right away. “We’re going to be stuck here _forever_.”

 

“Wouldn’t that be awesome? Just us, and all-you-can-eat burgers and fries,” the elder says dreamily. Jongdae doesn’t need to glance at him to know that there’s a bit of drool on the side of his mouth.

 

“Baekhyun!!” the younger tugs his arm in annoyance. “I really don’t want to be late for the first day of class.”

 

“You won’t, sheesh,” the elder shrugs him off. “Chill, bro. Just go with the flow, bro.”

 

The younger looks unimpressed by the elder’s attempt to being cool.

 

“Fo shizzle, my nizzle!” the elder says, just to be funny, and Jongdae can feel the second hand embarrassment as a few girls giggled behind them.

 

“Stop it, or I’m leaving,” the younger threatens.

 

“Why you gotta ruin my fun?” the elder continues, in that lame funny voice he does.

 

Jongdae takes a step forward, and Baekhyun immediately stops, since he doesn’t want to be alone in this fast food place.

 

 

**********

 

 

By the time they went back to school, it’s already 1 pm, and Jongdae has an hour left before his class. Feeling energized, they finally walk around the campus, trying to memorize which street to take. As they walk closer to Tandon building, they see a bunch of omegas, and betas crowding an area. They begin to wonder if they miss something important.

 

“What’s going on there?” Jongdae asks.

 

“Maybe they’re doing orientation? You want to check it out?”

 

“Sure.”

 

As they walk closer to the crowd, they begin to hear the excitement surrounding them.

 

_“He’s so cute.”_

 

_“I’d totally sleep with him and not tell my alpha.”_

 

_“But he’d smell his scent on you…”_

 

Jongdae had to glare at that omega for lacking common sense before he passes more people.

 

_“I can’t believe he’ll inherit Park Ent one day. We’re going to be so rich.”_

 

_“We?! As if he’d mate you!”_

 

_“Bitch please...I have better ass than you…”_

 

The younger cringes at the lack of intelligence, and hopes that he’ll meet smart friends in his classes. He’s preoccupied with that thought that he doesn’t notice Baekhyun squeezing his arm tightly.

 

“Oh my god!” Baekhyun hisses at him. “It’s them!”

 

“Who?” the younger asks in confusion.

 

“Oh my god! They look so hot. I can’t believe I’m breathing the same air as them!”

 

“Who?!” Jongdae asks again, feeling annoyed. He sees many people, but he doesn’t know _who_ he should be looking at.

 

“F4!!!” Baekhyun almost yells out before dragging Jongdae’s body to the right angle. “They’re like the hottest alphas in this campus, and _hot damn_ are they hot.”

 

As Jongdae gazes upon them for the first time, he doesn’t see _what_ the big deal is. Yes, they are good looking. Yes, he’d love to have an alpha as hot as that. But there are _other_ handsome alphas in this world...right?

 

Unfortunately, Baekhyun would vehemently disagree.

 

“The one with the angry eyebrows, that’s their leader, Yifan,” the elder whispers to him. “Look at his hands...they’re like the perfect size to manhandle me into the wall. Mmm yes, I would let him defile me.”

 

“Weren’t you saying the other day that my brother is your one and only?” Jongdae stares at him unimpressed.

 

“Hey! Until he finally recognizes that I’m not “like a brother”, I’m allowed to drool over other alphas.”

 

The younger can’t help but roll his eyes at him. He just know that if Minseok was here right now, Baekhyun would ignore those alphas and follow Minseok everywhere.

 

“Anyway, the guy next to him is Chanyeol. He’s like the heir of Park Ent. I bet his family could _buy_ New York, and still have spare change to buy U.S. also. But I also heard he’s a real player… doesn’t really date any omega, probably just sleep with them.”

 

“Hmm, maybe he’ll find the right omega one day.”

 

“And the last guy is someone you should look out for. That’s Luhan...he’s going to be our competition,” Baekhyun tells him while glaring at the alpha.

 

“Why? He doesn’t look menacing.”

 

“It’s not about the looks, Jongdae,” Baekhyun tsks him. “Not everything is about looks.”

 

Jongdae just had to stare at him in disbelief. As if the elder didn’t just drool over alphas a few minutes ago.

 

“Luhan is our program’s ace. He _leads_ in everything, from grades to how fucking perfect he looks. Like I heard he could finish our program within 3 years, but he’s purposely going slower so he can graduate with the other F4 members.”

 

“Sounds like he’s a good friend.”

 

“No! Don’t fall for his charm!” Baekhyun scolds him. “That’s what he wants...more fans. We should work together, and bring him down. We need to take his spot.”

 

“Nah, I’m good,” the younger tells him. “I’m here to study and graduate, not to join this weird competition that you made with Luhan, who probably doesn’t even know who you are.”

 

“Well, he _will_ know me!” Baekhyun tells him with a huff. “You’ll see...he’ll learn my name and he’ll rue the day for not giving up his throne.”

 

The younger sighs as he should have known how crazy Baekhyun can be with imaginative competition. After all, there was that incidence in elementary school where Baekhyun refuses to let go of his title ‘King of the Hill’, despite the fact that another student won it over him fairly.

 

They’re about to leave the crowd, but Jongdae suddenly recognizes an alpha that he met previously. He watches as the alpha joins the group of F4 and greets them with a smile.

 

Jongdae is momentarily entranced as his stomach does a quick summersault, and he’s suddenly feeling shy, despite knowing that the alpha won’t see him in this crowd. Still, there’s a strange reaction within his body, as if it’s pulling him towards the alpha. He doesn’t quite understand on what it means, but he knows one thing for sure. He’s not scared of this new feeling.

 

“Wait,” Jongdae grabs Baekhyun’s arm before they can leave. “What about him? Who’s that?”

 

“Oh, that’s their 4th member, Yixing. He’s been friends with Luhan and Yifan since they were kids, kind of like us. I guess he got into F4 because of that.”

 

“But nothing special about him?” Jongdae says before realizing he shouldn’t give Baekhyun a chance to tease him. “I mean, you mentioned some facts for the other members.”

 

“He’s not that special, to be honest,” Baekhyun says with a shrug. “I mean, he is considered a genius as well, since he’s already in his last year of Business within three years, but there is nothing special about him.”

 

“Ahh,” the younger nods despite feeling that he disagree with Baekhyun. He thinks that Yixing might be special. He just doesn’t know it yet.

 


	3. May 2018

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few months later...
> 
> All updates regarding May 2018 will be in this chapter.
> 
> Check daily in case I update into the chapter.

 

 

It’s the annual competition for Robots Showdown, where teams use their robots to fight against each other in a gruesome match. The only requirement is that the contestants must be enrolled in a University or in College, and is able to pay the $200 admission fee.

 

F4 is known to compete in these competitions, even when they first started university. Yifan is more enthusiastic about this than the others, simply because he has this fascination of building artificial intelligence. Luckily, Chanyeol sees this competition as a challenge, and Luhan is here for the attention he receives from the crowd. Plus, they need someone to code the functionalities of the robot, and Luhan is an expert at that. Despite that, they’re serious about winning first place, since last year they only got third.

 

Unfortunately, today isn’t a great day since a piece accidentally got bent, and Chanyeol is furious enough to roll his sleeves and mutter angrily as he try to fix it. Yifan is right beside him as he gives suggestions, while Luhan looks worried about their robot.

 

“Their robot looks cool. I wonder how they installed that tiny saw,” Yixing comments, not even caring that his friends are struggling. “Why didn’t you guys add a saw, again?”

 

“Because it’s fucking heavy, and fire is better,” Chanyeol replies in a frustrated tone.

 

“I still think the saw looks better,” Yixing says again, knowing how annoying he is right now. “Oh look, that robot has fire too….ouhhh”

 

“Yixing, shut the fuck up,” Yifan grunts as he stands up. “Why don’t you go find Jongdae?”

 

“And miss seeing the look when you guys place second? Nah,” the younger smirks.

 

“Alright, done,” Chanyeol tell them. “It’s going to work,” he says confidently.

 

“If it doesn’t, we can all blame Luhan,” Yifan surmises.

 

“Yep.”

 

“What did I do?! I didn’t bend that.”

 

“You flirted with the beta, causing him to fluster and bump into the robot,” Yixing reminds him, and Luhan glares at the betrayal.

 

“Exactly.”

 

“It’s starting,” Yifan tells them before taking a deep breath. “Let’s do this.”

 

He walks to the center along with the other leaders of their own teams. As leader, he’ll present their robot to the audience and introduce the team members.

 

“Break both legs,” Yixing teases before going back to his seat in the audience.

 

 

**************

 

 

Jongdae and Baekhyun sit close to the viewing area where F4 will compete with different teams. Originally, Jongdae was reluctant to come, because he doesn’t know much about robots. Plus, Baekhyun always seem to argue with Luhan for the stupidest reason whenever they meet, so he’s not looking forward to it. Despite that, he couldn’t ignore Yixing’s invitation, and it’s getting harder for him to not feel attached to the alpha. After all, it’s only been a few months since they became friends.

 

“That robot looks better than theirs,” Baekhyun comments. “Why didn’t they make it menacing?”

 

“I don’t think they judge based on appearance.”

 

“Hmm,” the elder hums. “I’m actually tempted on cheering for team number 14. That guy is _damn_ hot.”

 

“Seriously?” the younger asks unimpressed. “I know they’re not exactly our friends, but they did invite you to many parties. You could at least cheer for F4 too.”

 

“Fine,” Baekhyun says exasperatedly. “You just don’t want Yixing to be disappointed in you,” he teases.

 

“Wha...I don’t care about that,” he denies while blushing. “I’d also cheer for team 21. Their robot looks cool.”

 

“It’s alright Dae,” the elder wraps an arm around him. “You should accept the feelings you have towards him. He’s waiting for you, you know. He keeps hovering these days, as if he’s just waiting for you to give the signal.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Jongdae pushes him off. “He’s not _hovering_ or waiting on anything. We’re just friends. He’s just a friend.”

 

“Alpha and omega can’t be _just_ friends. It doesn’t work that way.”

 

“Why not?” Jongdae glares at him. “I mean you and Luhan talk and argue with each other, but you guys are not dating.”

 

“That’s because he’s infuriatingly annoying, and I hate his pretty face,” the elder immediately rants. “Plus, I’m not attracted to him by his smell. He doesn’t smell like anything I love. We’re simply colleagues that don’t get along.”

 

“So? Yixing and I could _totally_ be colleagues. He’s annoying to me too.”

 

Baekhyun scoffs at the obvious lie.

 

“Well, first, you told me he always smell like food. In fact, _different_ kind of foods, and you end up craving that food by the end of the day. Which means, you _obviously_ love his scent.”

 

Jongdae blushes at that truth, but doesn’t retort it.

 

“Second of all, i _know_ you like him….a lot. If you didn’t, he wouldn’t have met your brothers already, and you’d send Minseok to hunt him down, like that creepy alpha when we were in high school.”

 

“He only met my brothers because Minseok wanted to meet him, not because I wanted him to or anything,” the younger mutters while looking at his hands. “And I don’t like him that much….just a bit.”

 

“It’s okay to like him a lot,” the elder tells him softly. “He’s a great guy...far better than Luhan could be.”

 

“I still think you like Luhan,” Jongdae teases back.

 

“Shut up or I’m telling Yixing that you associate him with food.”

 

The younger nudges Baekhyun with his elbow, and somehow they end up playfully pushing each other with their arms. That’s how Yixing finds them once the event is starting.

 

“Ow!” Jongdae whines. “Don’t elbow my stomach.”

 

“You elbowed my ribs!”

 

Yixing looks amused at their fight as he sits down beside Jongdae, their legs are now touching.

 

“Are you guys having your own match?” he asks as he leans to the right, facing the omegas.

 

Jongdae resists the urge to blush and melt to the ground as he immediately clams up, and faces to the front.

 

“Yeah, but I won,” Baekhyun teases as he stares at Jongdae’s red face.

 

Yixing chuckles before facing back to the front and pays attention to the host.

 

It’s only Jongdae that can’t focus as he tries to not pay attention to the warm feeling near his left leg.

 

 

***********

 

 

 

 

 

 

************************

 

 

************************

 

Jongdae can't help but feel anxious. Despite the messages he received during his brothers’ layover, he's still worried that they won't arrive safely. That's why he's fidgeting with the button on his sleeve jacket, and pacing around in the street path, waiting for Yixing to pick them up.

 

Baekhyun doesn't seem as nervous, but he does notice the eyeliner that the elder put on, as well as the new clothes. Sometimes he wishes that Minseol would get a clue already and end his friend's suffering. Watching those two flirt shamelessly is sickening and tiring, especially when neither is willing to take the next step.

 

He rolls his eyes whenever Baekhyun steps closer to a store's window as he checks if his eyeliner is still good or not.

 

“It's not like it'll make a difference,” Jongdae tells him. “Minseok still won't notice how you're in love with him.”

 

“Hey! It's called making an effort, and I refuse to look like a homeless bum on our first meeting since forever.”

 

“He saw you with PJs and bed hair the other day, and you squealed when he complimented how cute you looked,” the younger rolls his eyes. “It's not like he hasn't seen your worst.”

 

“True, but I want him to see that I can dress fabulously as well. So he doesn't think I'm putting the bare minimum effort just because we've known each other for years,” the elder explains. “Which is something you should pay attention to. Just because Yixing likes your carefree fashion, doesn't mean he won't get bored of it.”

 

Jongdae gives him the finger and doesn't bother replying. He knows his style isn't as fashionable as those other omegas that coo over Yixing, but he's not the type to change himself just for an alpha. Even if that alpha is Yixing.

 

Luckily, Yixing arrives at that moment and they're not forced to continue this argument. Jongdae can't help at how his heart starts to beat a little faster, or the fact that his omega wolf wants to hug the alpha. He squashes down the affection and settles with a big a smile.

 

“Hyung, you came relatively on time,” Baekhyun jokes. It's not a surprise since New York traffic is hell.

 

“Sorry guys,” Yixing tells them with a smile before looking at Jongdae again. “Come to the front, Jongdae.”

 

“Oh no, it's okay. Baekhyun likes the front more whenever Minseok drives us. I'll sit in the back.”

 

“Nonsense!” Baekhyun interrupts. “I only liked the front because Minseok was right besides me, but Yixing isn't _my_ alpha. Minseok wouldn't like it.”

 

“You're not even dating him,” Jongdae judges him with a glare. “Why would he care?’

 

“I'm sure he would if we were dating,” Baekhyun sticks his tongue out before slipping into the back seat and locking the door before Jongdae can get in. “Plus, you're being rude Jongdae. Yixing has kindly agreed to drive, and he only asks that you sit in front.”

 

“Fine,” Jongdae grumbles before getting inside.

 

“I won't bite,” Yixing promises, and he smiles with that dimple peeking out so cutely.

 

Jongdae _hates_ Yixing for being so damn adorable. It doesn't help that the elder is wearing his sunglasses and it makes him look more enticing than usual.

 

“Since airport food is usually expensive, what do you guys feel like eating? We still have two hours before they land,” Yixing explains.

 

“I don't mind anything, but Jongdae might be craving _something_ ,” Baekhyun teases, knowing fully well he's being a little piece of shit.

 

“I'm not craving anything,” Jongdae lies horribly despite smelling the delicious scent of pretzels from Yixing.

 

He internally whines to himself for loving food too much.

 

“You sure? You always seem to want a certain food everytime we meet,” Yixing tells him.

 

 _Oh God...now Yixing will know the truth and thinks I'm weird_ \-- Jongdae thinks as he tries to shrink himself. Maybe he can disappear into thin air.

 

“Jongdae?” Yixing places a hand on his knee for comfort. “You okay? You don't have to choose a place. I'll choose one for us.”

 

Jongdae can't help but melt a little because Yixing is so damn sweet and he doesn't think he'll _ever_ get over Yixing. It's too hard to not be in love with this alpha.

 

“I'm thinking we should get burgers. Easy to bring and I know you both loved it,” Yixing tells them, without even removing the hand on Jongdae's knee.

 

“Sure, hyung,” Baekhyun says in the back.

 

“Okay,” Jongdae finally replies with a croaked voice.

 

They find the nearest burger place and Yixing parallel park the car so smoothly into a tiny spot. Sometimes he'd amazed at the amount of things that the elder is good at.

 

As they exit the car, Jongdae immediately smells pretzels, and notices a cart nearby. He groans at his fate. It seems like fate really _wants_ him to buy a pretzel also.

 

“What is it?” Yixing asks and then he notices the pretzels. “Oh, is it pretzels today?”

 

Jongdae could have denied it but his stomach tends to have a mind of its own, and his brain isn't smart enough to defeat it. So he nods ,and he smiles shyly as he sees Yixing heading to the cart.

 

Besides him, Baekhyun tsks and judges him, but Jongdae doesn't care. He's finally getting his pretzels.

 

 

****************

 

 

As they wait for the burger to be done, they make conversations about the upcoming school year. This time, Yixing is going to be a freshman again for the Law program, and Jongdae and Baekhyun will continue with their Software Engineering.

 

“I told you, right? That Minseok is also transferring here for his second year in Law,” Jongdae tells them. “You guys will be classmates!”

 

“Maybe,” Yixing smiles at him.

 

“He needs more friends, Ge,” Jongdae explains. “You should befriend him. He doesn't like to be social that much.”

 

“Yeah, you should hyung,” Baekhyun tells him. “You guys can be like Jongdae and I, best friends forever.”

 

“Sure,” Yixing chuckles.

 

“Plus, this way we can double date,” Baekhyun suggests mischievously. “Minseok and I, while you and Jongdae.”

 

Jongdae widens his eyes in shock before jumping across the table to _strangle_ his _ex_ best friend.

 

 _What the hell_ \- he thought angrily as embarrassment seeps through his body.

 

“Jongdae,” Yixing laughs as he pulls him back down to sit. “That sounds nice actually. My friends aren’t looking to settle down, so it’d be nice to have someone to double date with.”

 

Jongdae’s face is burning, and his heart is beating three times faster than usual. He doesn’t know whether to cry or be happy at Yixing’s response.

 

“So you’re looking to settle down?” Baekhyun asks for Jongdae. “And you think you can settle down with _him_?”

 

“Yeah,” Yixing replies easily. “I think Jongdae’s pretty great.”

 

The elder seems so confident at his words, and he doesn’t think twice as he reaches over to grab Jongdae’s hand.

 

Meanwhile, Jongdae is having an internal struggle. He probably looks like one of those gaping fish that people make a meme out of. It feels like it as he stares at Yixing, speechless at his words. There’s still butterflies in his stomach and his heart will _never_ calm down, but he’s looking at their intertwined hands and it feels _right_.

 

“Number 10!” someone yells out in the background, indicating that the order is done.

 

“I’ll get it!” Baekhyun immediately says, not wanting the couple to stop their moment.

 

“Do you think it’s a bad idea?” Yixing asks him in an unsure tone once Baekhyun leaves.

 

He looks up at Yixing’s face and he thinks it’s the first time he has seen anxiousness in the elder’s behavior. He doesn’t like seeing that, and his omega wolf tells him to stop being stubborn and just say ‘ _Yes’_.

 

There’s disappointment in the younger’s stomach when Yixing takes his hand away, as if the elder is regretting for being so forward about his feelings.

 

“I shouldn’t have done it like this. I was going to wait until…”

 

“No,” Jongdae interrupts him, and Yixing stares at him in shock. “I mean, it’s not a bad idea.”

 

The younger looks down to the floor again, feeling shy by the amount of attention he’s receiving today.

 

“I just didn’t know you were thinking that way,” the younger admits.

 

“I thought I was being obvious,” the elder chuckles nervously.

 

“I’m not good at this,” Jongdae mutters. “You get confessed by omegas daily and I usually don’t get any.”

 

 _That’s because I didn’t let them_  -- Yixing thinks proudly.

 

“They never mattered to me, not when the one I wanted was besides me.”

 

Jongdae blushes hard at those words, and playfully shoves Yixing away.

 

“Stop that,” he whines with his ears red.

 

The elder simply grins before taking his hand again.

 

“Can I see you tomorrow?” Yixing asks seriously.

 

“Maybe,” the younger replies teasingly. “Actually, I think I’ll be busy with my brothers. We have to get the new apartment ready.”

 

“Ah, then we should meet when you guys are more settled,” Yixing decides. “Plus, I did promise your brother, Jongin I think? That I would cook for him.”

 

“You really don’t have to,” Jongdae insists. “He just likes being babied by everyone, so he automatically thinks that anyone older than him would do his bidding.”

 

“It’s fine,” the elder tells him. “I’m going to see them a lot and I want them to like me, even if it means one brother at a time.”

 

The younger feels touched by the gesture and he smiles at Yixing. There’s a gentle comforting squeeze in his hand and he’s overwhelmed by feelings.

 

 

***************

 

 

They rush quickly to the arrival area once Yixing finds parking. At first, Jongdae thought they should be dropped off first, but Yixing seems against it, and Baekhyun agrees, knowing how bad they are with direction. So now they’re rushing to arrive on time, hoping that his brothers didn’t arrive before them.

 

Luckily, they don’t see anyone resembling Jongin as they arrive. They assume it’d be easier to see the youngest since Junmyeon and Minseok are shorter.

 

Jongdae texts his brothers on the group chat, and hopes that someone will answer.

 

“Minseok hyung and Jongin aren’t that good with technology actually, but Junmyeon hyung _loves_ to check out new tech stuff,” Jongdae tells them. “So I hope they know how to connect to the free wifi.”

 

“It’s not really free,” Baekhyun judges as he glares at his phone. “What kind of airport only gives 30 minutes of free wifi?”

 

“It’s really not like in Korea, huh?” Yixing comments with an amused tone.

 

“Yep,” Baekhyun smiles. “You should visit Korea one day, hyung. Come and see the house Jongdae grew up with. He used to be obsessed with pokemon, and wanted to become a pokemon master when he grows up.”

 

“Just keep talking,” Jongdae tells him sweetly. “Minseok hyung will _love_ to know what happened to his hoodie.”

 

As the two best friends glare at each other, Yixing can only smile and shakes his head. They remind him a bit of how Luhan and him would fight.

 

Suddenly, a voice calls out from afar, as if there is no such thing as embarrassment in this world.

 

“HYUNG! JONGDAE HYUNG!” someone calls out, and Jongdae immediately grins at the recognition of that tone.

 

Jongin runs across the hallway, uncaring of the fact that people are staring at him, judging him so severely. The only thing he cares about is how his hyung is here and how much he _misses_ him.

 

Jongdae doesn’t seem to care either as he runs also to Jongin, and miraculously, they’re able to hug each other as they collide.

 

“Hyung…” Nini whimpers as if he’s in some Korean drama and he just reunited with a long lost lover.

 

“Nini,” Jongdae laughs at him, but his voice is also cracked. “I’ve missed you _so_ much.”

 

“Really?” the youngest ask with teary eyes. “More than the others?”

 

“Of course.”

 

As the two brothers hug, Junmyeon is struggling to roll his carry on, as well as Jongin’s, since the youngest basically dropped it into the ground. Though, as soon as he’s close enough, he leaves the luggages, and joins the hug.

 

“Jongdae,” Junmyeon greets him softly and sweetly.

 

Jongdae pulls him into the hug as tears roll down in his face, and the three of them are in their own world.

 

 

*************

 

 

Meantime, as this was happening, Minseok is behind them rolling a cart with their luggages. Despite hearing Jongin’s tearful words, he’s not focused on that scene. Instead, he sees the face he’s been longing since a long time, and his feet has taken a mind of its own as he steps closer to the person he missed the most.

 

As he lets go the cart, he steps towards Baekhyun, who smiles at seeing him.

 

“Hyung,” the younger greets him. “I…”

 

Minseok doesn’t let him finish the words as he pulls the younger into a hug, and he releases a relieved sigh, as if the months of burdens of being away is released by one single hug.

 

“Baekhyunnie…” he whispers.

 

Baekhyun bites his bottom lip, and he withholds the tears he feels will escape soon.

 

“I missed you,” Minseok tells him softly. “I really missed you.”

 

“I missed you too,” the younger replies despite the shaken voice.

 

“Yeah?” the elder asks as he takes a step back, but his hands are still on Baekhyun’s hips.

 

He takes a moment to stare at Baekhyun’s face, remembering the tiny mole on the corner of his lips, and the beautiful brown eyes that always stare at him with affection.

 

He places a hand on the younger’s cheek, as if amazed that this isn’t one of his dreams. He caresses it, and he’s not surprised that it feels smooth, like it always does.

 

“You’ve grown chubbier,” the elder notes with a chuckle. “Your cheek is so plum now.”

 

Baekhyun immediately pouts at those words, thinking that he’s being scolded for gaining weight.

 

“I can’t help it. All the foods here taste so good,” the younger complains.

 

“It’s a good thing,” the elder soothes his worries. “I love them like this. You’re still as cute as ever.”

 

Baekhyun blushes at his words and looks at the grounds, feeling shy by the compliment.

 

“Did you really miss me?” the elder asks as if he himself is doubtful of Baekhyun’s words.

 

“Of course,” the younger reassures him. “Every day.”

 

“But you must miss other alphas too, by now,” the elder comments. “I used to be the only alpha in your life, but you probably have many now. From your classes...or other places.”

 

“No!” The younger stares at him, horrified at the thought of replacing Minseok with someone else. “It’s still just you. I promise,” he says cutely, and Minseok can’t help but grin at him.

 

“Good,” he says firmly. “You don’t need those other alphas. Just me.”

 

Baekhyun can’t help but melt at those words.

 

 _I’ll wait for you….for as long as it takes_  -- Baekhyun reminds himself.

 

 

**********

 

 

“Hyung~” a loud voice interrupts their moment. “Why are you hugging Baekhyun before me?”

 

Jongdae pouts as he stomps a foot into the ground.

 

Minseok chuckles at the sound before letting go of Baekhyun.

 

“You were busy with Nini,” Minseok tries to reason, as he points to the youngest brother who is still holding on to Jongdae.

 

“Even Junmyeon hugged me,” Jongdae whines even more. “You don’t love me anymore.”

 

“Jongdae,” Minseok sighs exasperatedly as he tries to hug Jongdae, but the younger is refusing.

 

“No! I only have Junmyeon and Jongin in my life now. I have no alpha brother,” Jongdae tells him childishly before dragging Jongin to another place.

 

Junmyeon can only laugh at the interaction.

 

“I’m sure he’ll forgive you. He doesn’t get mad long,” Yixing tells him, which reminded everyone that he’s still there.

 

“Yixing,” Minseok greets him formally. “Thank you for bringing them here.”

 

“It’s my pleasure,” Yixing tells him with a smile. “I’m glad you and your brothers have arrived safely.”

 

“Thank you,” Minseok nods. “You can go back now. I have it under control. Jongdae will be staying in the hotel with us this week, and I’ve made arrangements for Baekhyun to join us as well.”

 

“Ah, right, but are you sure you’ll be alright with these luggages and 4 omegas? New York isn’t always a safe city at nights. At least, let me bring the luggages to your hotel and you can use the taxi with them.”

 

Minseok is about to disagree but Baekhyun doesn’t let him.

 

“It’s okay, hyung,” Baekhyun tells him. “We can trust him. He’s not going to steal your stuff.”

 

As much as Minseok wants to complain that he can handle 4 omegas alone, he knows that Yixing isn’t going anywhere much to his displeasure. Especially after hearing how much the alpha seems to care for Jongdae.

 

“Alright,” he relents. “We’ll be in the Park Hyatt Hotel. I’ll meet you in the lobby.”

 

Yixing nods as he walks to the luggage cart.

 

“You should tell Jongdae you’re leaving,” Baekhyun advises.

 

“I will,” he smiles at Baekhyun. “I’ll see you guys there.”

 

As Yixing walks away with the luggages, Baekhyun grabs onto Minseok’s arm, smiling at the elder.

 

“Don’t worry, hyung,” Baekhyun says softly. “He’s a really good alpha.”

 

“Yeah?” Minseok asks as he feels something strange in his chest as Baekhyun tells him those words. “You like him, then?”

 

“I do, but Jongdae likes him the most,” Baekhyun whispers secretly.

 

“Who do you like the most?”

 

 _You_ \-- Baekhyun wants to admit, but he’s not ready for Minseok to reject him. Not when tonight felt so wonderful.

 

“That’s a secret,” he ends up saying.

 

He doesn’t notice the frown in Minseok’s face.

 

 

*************

 

 

*************

 

The nice thing about the hotel's location is how it is in the center of the everything. There are so many different things Junmyeon can check out, and it’s all walking distances. Despite that, he still feels awkward as he walks in the street. Unlike his brothers, he needs more time to get used to things, and maybe that’s why he’s been itching to go out today.

 

Well, to be fair, it’s not just  _ him _ that needs time. Jongin also get scared when he tries out new things, but this time, the younger seems to  _ really _ like New York, especially once he finds out that the city is  _ full _ of fast food options. Junmyeon can't blame him, especially since there will be no chefs to cook for them this time. Their parents want them to grow, and learn to fucking cook already. He gets it; cooking is a necessity.

 

It's just... _ so much efforts!!! _

 

So it's really a blessing that New York offers a variety of foods, otherwise, they might end up dieting instead of eating.

 

Anyway, it's only been a week since they've arrived. Minseok has been busy apartment searching while Jongin is attached to Jongdae's side, even to the point where Jongin follows him to the toilet. It's hilarious to watch them bicker about personal space, but he knows that they're just getting used to being 4 brothers against the world.

 

While those two work out their issues, Junmyeon decides to explore New York by himself.

 

There's a strict policy where Minseok makes his brothers inform him if they ever go out alone. Junmyeon used to think it's stupid, because they’re all capable adults. However, he understands now, after reading all the awful news. Unmated omegas are targets for bad people, so Junmyeon doesn't mind sending the occasional updates to Minseok.

 

Therefore, he sent a message to Minseok a few minutes ago that he'd be going to the nearest Starbucks for a while. Minseok replied quickly, as always, and told him to not stay too long, especially once it gets dark.

 

He doesn’t plan to stay long anyway. Maybe an hour or two maximum. He simply wants to sit near a window, prepare his pose for a social media post, and watches in anticipation if anyone will like his post.

 

He orders one of their regular coffee and luckily finds an empty seat near the window. He wonders if he should put the cup down and take a picture of it with the table, but he thinks that looks too common. Therefore he decides to raise his cup up, as if he’s giving a toast to the world.

 

 

 

As he posts his picture into Twitter and IG, he suddenly notices someone taking a seat beside him, and he looks up for a moment in curiosity.

“Hey,” the stranger greets him with a kind smile. “What’s a cutie like you doing in a coffee shop?”

“Oh..um...coffee,” Junmyeon tells him, feeling a bit shy from the attention. He can immediately smell the scent of pinewood on this alpha, and unlike most omegas, he’s not a big fan of that scent.

“Yeah? Which kind?” he asks.

“Just the regular one...I think it’s black coffee.”

“Just regular? You don’t want to try something new?”

“Something new?” 

“Yeah,” the alpha smirks. “I, for one, am craving for some buns.”

“Buns? They sell those here?” Junmyeon asks in confusion, tilting his head a little.

“Sure, I wouldn’t mind paying,” he replies with a sleazy smile. 

Junmyeon still doesn’t understand, but he doesn’t get a chance to ask as he feels another presence behind him. He looks behind and sees a handsome alpha with the weirdest eyebrows.

This time, this second stranger, he doesn’t smell like pinewood, or  _ anything _ related to forest scent. In fact, it’s more of a subtle mix of citrus and vanilla, a scent that intrigues Junmyeon. 

“Why are you harassing my date, Dan?”

“Oh!” Dan, the first stranger, exclaims as he hurriedly stands up. “I’m sorry, man. I didn’t know he’s yours.”

“Get out.”

“Right. Sorry,” Dan stutters in his words before running away.

Junmyeon watches the interaction with wide eyes as he follows the second stranger’s movement before the alpha sits on the deserted chair.

“Didn’t your parents teach you to not speak to strange alphas?” the alpha questions him, an eyebrow raising at him.

“They do,” Junmyeon blushes. “He wasn’t bothering me though. He was just suggesting the buns to me.”

The alpha smiles amusedly, as if he can’t believe the naivete of this omega.

“I guess you’re new to the city,” he surmises.

“Yeah,” Junmyeon replies in shock. “Is it that obvious?”

“Yeah,” the alpha smiles softly before bending his elbow and placing it into the table. He places his chin into his hand without breaking their eye contact. “Where are you from?”

“Oh, um, originally? South Korea, but I was in Singapore before moving here.”

“Really? I’ve been to South Korea before. Though my hangul isn’t that perfect anymore.”

“You know hangul?” Junmyeon’s eyes light up. “I didn’t think I’d meet someone who’d understand it, except my brothers.”

“There are many koreans here,” the alpha states. “Though, not all of them are as cute as you.”

“Oh,” Junmyeon blushes. “I’m not that cute.”

“I disagree,” the alpha says firmly. “Otherwise, that creep, Dan, he wouldn’t have bothered.”

“He’s a creep?” he asks confusedly. “Why?”

“Do you know what kind of buns he wanted?”

“Um...bread?” Junmyeon replies hesitatingly, despite knowing he’s probably wrong and misjudged Dan.

The alpha doesn’t seem to judge his mistake harshly as he laughs, and Junmyeon likes the sound of it.

“Very cute,” the alpha surmises with a grin.

 

  


 

************************

 

Jongdae doesn’t see what’s the big deal is, but apparently, Minseok and Baekhyun seem to agree that this dinner is a semi formal event. He doesn’t even know what that means, or what he should expects, and Minseok isn’t lessening his confusion as the elder simply  _ orders _ them on what to wear, rather than explaining why.

This is why he’s currently in his nice black pants, the one he usually uses if he’s having dinner with his parents, and a crisp blue dress shirt. The fit feels weird, and he’s withholding his whining for the sake of being an adult, but it’s starting to irk him. 

Jongin, however, doesn’t seem to care about filtering his thoughts as he immediately whines and pouts while being dragged by Minseok to the car.

“But it itches, and it’s too tight on me,” Jongin complains. “Why can’t I wear jeans?”

“It’s not polite.”

“They’re not even our parents.”

“They’re still respected students of NYU, and they have a high reputation with the Dean. We need to make a good impression.”

“But I don’t  _ need _ the Dean to like me,” Jongin argues. “I don’t plan on getting his attention.”

“Jongin,” Minseok calls his name with exasperation. “This is part of being an adult. So please act like one.”

The youngest doesn’t like to be scolded, let alone being told to be quiet, so he protests by stomping to Jongdae’s side, hugging him from the back.

Jongdae sighs, but allows his body to be used as a comforting figure.

It doesn’t take long for them to reach to the hotel’s underground parking lot, and they manage to find the car easily.

Luckily, their parents agreed on leasing them a car while they study, and Minseok chose Lexus LX for their 8 seater. It’ll at least provide some personal space if any of them fought and refused to sit next to each other.

Baekhyun runs to the passenger seat, trying to declare a permanent dibs for this spot. Neither of the siblings are surprised by his actions, since they all know Baekhyun’s  _ obvious _ infatuation with Minseok, except the elder himself.

Junmyeon heads for the back seat, enjoying the wide chair all to himself. Jongdae would have followed his brother, but Jongin is still sticking to him like glue, so he struggles to enter the car. He ends up sitting beside Jongin, and he doesn’t complain as the youngest uses his arm and shoulder as pillow.

“Seat belts buckled?” Minseok always asks before he starts the car.

“Yeah,” most of them mutters, except Baekhyun who cheerily replies. 

Minseok pulls out swiftly and heads for F4 place. Baekhyun turns on the GPS for him, and hijacks the radio by switching it to his favorite radio station.

Jongdae doesn’t pay attention to the songs as he thinks about their impending arrival. He realized recently that it’s been two weeks since he last saw Yixing. He hopes that their reunion won’t be too awkward. 

He’s been thinking about their sweet moment, and sometimes he’d over analyze it to the point where he doubts himself. But in the end, he’s still hoping that Yixing hasn’t changed his mind. He hopes that the moment they shared wasn’t a one time thing. 

He doesn’t want things to go back to the way it was before, so he’s silently wishing that things will change.

The ride itself doesn’t take long, and Jongdae looks out to the window as he tries to guess which building contains F4 penthouse.

It’s not really shocking that F4 would live in a penthouse, but it is shocking to see how tall the luxury building is. With over 40 floors, the building is one of the highest in NYC, and one of the modernized looking ones. 

They get drop off first while Minseok looks for parking, and Junmyeon leads them inside the building. As they wait in the lobby, they stare in awe at the decoration and the fact that it looks more like a spacious living room than a lobby.

Jongin points excitedly at a see through wall that has water falling down. Baekhyun takes the opportunity to gaze through the wall, pretending that it's a rainy day and he puts on a moody expression. Jongin seems to find it funny as he laughs and joins Baekhyun's acting.

Jongdae rolls his eyes, used to Baekhyun quirkiness, while Junmyeon seems to be preoccupied with the magazines and newspapers they laid out. He can bet that Junmyeon is looking for the Sudoku section in the newspaper.

By the time Minseok arrives, Baekhyun and Jongin has managed to create a childish game that involves 'tag you're it’, and Jongdae has become Jongin's shield whenever Baekhyun tries to tag him.

“That's cheating!” Baekhyun complains while trying to touch Jongin's arm. It fails since Jongin drags Jongdae from left to right.

“What are you two doing?” Minseok hisses at them. “Can't you both  _ behave _ for once?”

“Jongin started it!” Baekhyun immediately blames the younger, and Jongin widens his eyes in surprise, as if it's not obvious that Baekhyun likes to be seen as a good boy in Minseok's eyes.

“Enough!” He says angrily. “Straighten your shirt and sleeves. Let's go.”

As the four brothers and Baekhyun rides up to the top floor, Jongdae begins to feel his anxiety again. He wonders how this day would go and if his expectations would match reality. 

He reminisces about the first time Yixing met his brothers, and he thinks that Yixing must have been nervous too. But Jongdae thinks that the elder did well on that day, especially since Jongin seems to love Yixing already. It's only a matter of time before Minseok would accept him, and he hopes it'll be soon.

He rubs his palms across his pants, suddenly feeling warmer than usual. He holds his breath as he hears the elevator makes a ding sound, and the doors open slowly.

 

“Hey!” Yixing greets them as the elevator doors open. “Welcome!”

Minseok steps out first, and nods in acknowledgement. 

“Thank you for the invite. We didn't know what we should bring so we brought you guys some juice for later.”

“Oh thank you,” Yixing bows before taking the bag of juice.

“Jongin can't drink yet,” Minseok says bluntly, causing the youngest to whine.

“But I'm already legal. Hyung, you just won't let me,” Jongin complains from behind.

“It's alright, Jongin. Most of us will take water, except Luhan. He's a bit peculiar about his beverages.”

“Oh...Luhan is here?” Minseok asks, suddenly feeling tense.

Baekhyun has informed him how this alpha has always annoyed the younger. Minseok thought he'd meet this alpha later on during the semester, but he should have known that Luhan would be here to support Yixing.

“Yes. I guess Jongdae has told you about him?”

“No, Baekhyun did.”

Yixing groans internally, already imagining the feud that these two alphas will have.

“Ah, well, he'll come out soon.”

Minseok nods as he looks around, trying to see if Luhan will appear.

Jongdae takes the opportunity to push his brothers into the apartment.

“Jongdae,” Yixing immediately notices him and smiles widely. “I'm so glad you made it.”

“Well it'd be weird if I didn't come,” Jongdae jokes nervously before looking away. He already feels nervous enough under Yixing's gaze. “So, um, I know that Baekhyun ordered you to make specific foods, and I told him not to, but he wouldn't listen.”

“Oh, that's not a big deal.”

“I just feel bad, since I know you're the only one who's cooking.”

“Chanyeol helped too. He actually stayed until I was done before he left for his event “

“Oh that's good.”

Yixing smiles as he watches Jongdae struggle to act normal. If this was any other person, he'd feel awkward too, but watching Jongdae behave anxiously, it looks so endearing. He can't help reminisces of how much he missed the younger.

So he grabs Jongdae's wrist and takes a step closer.

“You look so cute today,” he says softly and he smirks at Jongdae's flabbergasted expression.

He laughs as the younger hits him, and he enjoys seeing the red shade across his face.

“Don't say that,” Jongdae whines and pouts. 

“I'm not allowed to compliment my boyfriend?” he asks teasingly.

“I haven't said yes to that,” the younger argues, despite feeling his heartbeat going faster.

“You're right,” Yixing amends himself. “Let me take you out on a date before I ask that question.”

“I don't know if we can be alone,” Jongdae replies truthfully. “Jongin never wants to leave me alone these days.”

“Bring him,” Yixing insists. “As long as you're there, it's still a date for me.”

“If you say it like that, that means we've been dating for months,” the younger argues.

“I do think our first day was months ago,” he admits. “But I want us to go at your pace. Our first day can be any day you want.”

“Can it be today?” he asks shyly.

“Of course.”

***********

 

“Wow! This place is huge!” Jongin tells them as he walks around.

“Jongin!” Minseok hisses, feeling embarassed by that comment.

“Hyung, can we find a penthouse too?”

“We'll see.”

Jongin pouts at that reply, and he shrugs it off once he see a little cutie peeking out of the door way.

“Oh my god!!” Jongin practically squeals as he sees a black poodle running towards him. He scoops it up effortlessly and nuzzles against his head. “Hyung, look how cute he is!!”

“Yes, very cute,” Minseok replies amusedly.

“But I'm cuter, right?” Baekhyun interrupts, feeling unloved.

“Of course.”

“You're such a cutie,” Jongin talks to the puppy excitedly. “What's your name, huh? I bet you have the cutest name.”

Junmyeon smiles as he walks closer to the puppy, who keeps licking Jongin fingers and chin.

“I wonder who owns him.”

“Ahh that's Chanyeol's puppy,” Yixing explains once he finally finishes talking to Jongdae. “He's a bit of a hyper one but he keeps us on our toes.”

It seems only Minseok notices how they're holding hands and he withholds his disaproval for the moment.

“What's his name?” Jongin asks.

“Toben,” Yixing says and they all notice how the puppy raises his head as he acknowledges being called. “You should let him run around, otherwise he'll get too attached to you.”

“I'm okay with that,” Jongin says adamantly.

“Jongin, he's not your kid.”

“But he  _ wants _ to be my adopted kid,” Jongin pouts.

“Jongin,” Minseok says exasperatedly, already feeling tired of becoming the responsible adult.

“Kid?” Yixing asks in confusion.

“He calls his dogs as his kids,” Jongdae explains.

“Ahh, well I don't think Chanyeol will be happy if you take Toben away. He's very attached to him, but I'm sure you can come and play with him anytime.”

“Really?” Jongin asks excitedly. “Like, anytime?”

“Sure.”

Jongin squeals for the nth time and his brothers roll their eyes at the sound. They're used to it.

“Can I come next weekend?”

“Jongin…” Minseok glares.

“Sure,” Yixing laughs. “Toben seems to like you a lot.”

Yifan enters cautiously as he hears a lot of excitement in the room. He wonders if Yixing has pulled out a board game for them to play. 

Instead, he sees a tall young man playing with Toben, and the others are watching him amusedly.

“I'm sorry about this,” one of the guests said. “He has his own puppies, but they haven't arrived yet. He just misses playing with one.”

“Oh, it's fine,” Yixing replies. “If Chanyeol was here, he'd be happy that someone loves Toben too. He loves that puppy as much as Jongin would.”

“That means he's a great owner,” the tall man says as he grins.

Yifans clears his throat, deeming it safe to make his entrance.

“Hello, I'm sorry for being late. I'm Kris, Yixing's childhood friend.”

He bows to everyone before taking a seat closer to where Yixing is sitting.

“Hi Yifan!” Baekhyun screams from the other side of the room, and Yifan ignores him, used to that behavior.

He's about to say more, but he notices a familiar face.

“Oh,” he smiles warmly. “Hello,” he greets Junmyeon.

Minseok looks at Kris, then to Junmyeon, wondering how they know each other.

“I didn't realize you're Jongdae's brother,” Kris continues.

“Yeah,” Junmyeon replies nervously, his face feeling warm.

“You've met before?” Yixing asks to Kris, feeling suspicious.

“Remember how I told you I saw Dan, the creep, in Starbucks the other day? I met Junmyeon too. He's the one that Dan was harassing.”

“Harassing?!” Minseok exclaims.

“Oh, it's not what you think,” Kris remedies. “He was flirting crassly, but nothing had happened. I overheard Dan trying to seduce him, and I didn't want Junmyeon to get hurt.”

“Wow...like a knight in shining armor,” Baekhyun smirks as he watches Junmyeon get more embarrassed.

“I was simply being a good guy,” Kris amends Baekhyun's words.

“Thank you, then,” Minseok tells him. “I'd be devastated if Dan had succeeded. My name is Minseok, by the way.”

“Kris,” he repeats before shaking the alpha's hand.

“I thought it was Yixan or something like that,” Junmyeon asks, feeling confused.

Yixing laughs at the mistaken pronunciation.

“Yifan, actually,” Kris corrects him as he smiles. “But I tell people to call me Kris.”

“Oh, you never told me that.”

“I enjoyed hearing you say my real name,” Kris admits without feeling ashamed.

“Ouhhh” Baekhyun says loudly.

Junmyeon blushes hard as Jongin giggles and Jongdae laughs in the background. 

Minseok doesn't seem to find it funny. In fact, he feels like  _ everyone _ is trying to court his brothers now. 

He's frowning as Yixing tell them to come to the dining area so they can start dinner.

 

 

Minseok stares at the rectangle table and wonders where he should sit. He thinks about sitting in the end, but then Jongdae might choosing a seat next to Yixing, and he  _ can't _ allow that. Therefore, he grabs Jongdae's hand before the younger can make a choice.

“Jongdae, you can sit next to me,” Minseok declares. “And Junmyeon, you'll be on my other side.”

“Hyung,” Jongdae immediately whines, not liking this seating arrangement.

“Then, who'll sit with me?” Jongin asks sadly.

“You can sit next to me,” Yixing says kindly.

“No!” Minseok disagrees.

“You can't have all of us next to you,” Junmyeon argues. “Plus, you're being too protective. It's just dinner.”

“Yeah, hyung,” Jongdae agrees. “So can I sit next to Yixing Ge?” he asks with a hopeful tone.

“No,” Minseok quickly replies, and then he suddenly has an idea. “If that's the case, Yixing will sit next to me so I can keep an eye.”

“Sure,” Yixing replies cherrily, not minding wherever he'll sit.

Jongdae pouts in defeat but takes a seat across Yixing, who smiles comfortingly at him.

“Should I also sit next to you?” Kris asks with an amused tone.

“No,” Minseok glares. “Just not next Junmyeon.”

“Hyung,” Junmyeon whines, but nonetheless sits next to Jongin.

Kris smiles at him as he sits across from him.

“Finally,” Yixing comments and they finally see Luhan standing in the doorway. “What were you doing for so long?”

“Getting ready,” Luhan replies as if it's the obvious answer. “Hello everyone, my name is Luhan. Nice to meet you all.”

He bows before noticing Baekhyun's glare.

“Baekhyunnie, I see you're looking fine this afternoon.”

Yixing groans loudly as he expects Minseok to not like that comment.

Baekhyun replies by giving Luhan the finger, but Minseok takes offense to that comment, so he stands up.

“Are you the one that has been harassing  _ my _ Baekhyun?” he asks vehemently. “Do you enjoy picking on omegas?”

“I've never picked on him. I  _ tease _ him,” Luhan tells him while squaring his shoulders to look tougher. “And he  _ likes _ my teasing,” he says smugly. “Otherwise he wouldn't have blushed when I told him he looked the cutest in glasses.”

“I.. I've never blushed!” Baekhyun stutters loudly.

Jongdae scoffs at his comment while the others are still watching the scene.

Minseok would have retorted, but he just noticed how Baekhyun is currently wearing fake glasses. He frowns at the thought that maybe Baekhyun wore it for Luhan's sake.

That doesn't mean he's willing to give up so quickly once he sees Luhan heading towards the chair near Baekhyun.

“You can't sit there!” Minseok argues. “That's my seat!”

“You were sitting over there already!”

“Well, I changed my mind!”

“How about Jongdae sits there, and Luhan can sit in front of me?” Yixing interrupts before the two alphas decide to fight.

“Why?” Jongdae pouts, hating the fact he can't sit close to Yixing.

“Please,” Yixing pleads. “I'll make it up to you.”

“Fine,” Jongdae stomps childishly. “You're making it up to me,  _ twice! _ ”

Yixing grins and nods in agreement.

As Luhan settles in front of him, Yixing starts to introduce the foods he has made.

“As requested, spicy chicken, beef stew and Jongdae's favorite, lamb kebab.”

Jongin coos before reaching out to grab what he wants.

“It looks amazing Ge,” Jongdae grins at him.

Jongin moans across the table, as if he has been on the longest diet.

“This  _ tastes  _ amazing. How are you able to cook so well?” Jongin asks.

“My mom loves cooking and I loved learning from her,” Yixing replies as he shrugs.

“Is she a chef?” Minseok asks curiously before tasting the beef stew.

“No, she's actually a professor in NYU.”

“Oh.”

“His dad is a judge, hyung,” Jongdae adds. “I've never met him, but Luhan told me he's scary.”

“Very scary,” Luhan agrees.

“My dad is a very serious person, so he rarely makes jokes,” Yixing explains.

“Is that why you took Law? Because you want to be a judge?” Minseok wonders 

“No, I just like the money,” Yixing replies bluntly, causing his guests to laugh.

“That sounds superficial.”

“Of course I'd love to make a difference, but I chose Law because I'm good with words, and I like being able to convince people to choose the right side,” Yixing continues to explain before taking a bite.

“Hmm,” Minseok thinks. “Does that mean you used that skill to make Jongdae choose you? Are you manipulating him?”

“Of course not,” Yixing denies immediately. “If anything, he's manipulating me.”

“What?” Minseok asks confusedly.

“How?” Jongdae asks also.

“I don't know,” Yixing shrugs. “I just know that I'm crazy about him, and I've never felt this way with anyone else.”

“Ouhhhh,” Baekhyun teases with a smirk, nudging a blushing Jongdae.

Minseok glares at Yixing for the obvious flirting, but he can see it. The blush in Yixing's cheeks, and the shyness in his eyes. It's not easy to fake that. He just hopes that Yixing will always adore Jongdae, even to the future.

“Does that mean when you mate with Jongdae hyung, you'll come live with us?” Jongin asks rather seriously.

“Jongin!” Jongdae and Minseok both yell at him, but only Jongdae felt embarrassed by that question.

“But I  _ love _ his cooking, and Yixing hyung should come live with us,” Jongin pouts in defeat.

“That's not how mating works,” Minseok tells him, feeling annoyed.

“They'll probably live together, alone,” Baekhyun tells him.

“Oh,” Jongin replies sadly.

“Aw, don't be sad,” Baekhyun pats his back.

“I sometimes bring food for lunch, and we share it together. You can join us,” Yixing says kindly, not liking the fact that Jongin seems heartbroken.

“No, Ge,” Jongdae weakly protests, feeling worried that Jongin will take advantage of this.

“Really? I can eat you with you guys?” Jongin asks excitedly, as if his world just turned positive 

“Of course,” Yixing grins. “Luhan never eat leftover, so it's usually just the three of us sharing it.”

“Yes!!” Jongin wholeheartedly agrees. “I'll join you guys for lunch every day!”

“Uh, every day starting from September, not every day from now,” Kris amends to Yixing's words.

“Oh,” Jongin says disappointedly, but he realizes that September is only 3 months away. “Okay, hyung.”

 

*****************

 

 


	4. June 2018

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scenes from June 2018

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the lack of updates in AO3. I actually updated weekly in Twitter, but doing it also in AO3 requires more efforts since I add pictures.
> 
> Please check the previous chapter for a few scenes that I added before you start this one. Thanks!

**Xingdae first date**

 

**************

 

Jongdae can't stop smiling at the moment. Today felt so wonderful, and he wishes he could just stay in this moment, but Minseok will be back soon and he doesn't want to deal with an annoying, overprotective alpha. Therefore, he pouts as Yixing walks him to the hotel, after the wonder 3 hours journey in the city.

 

“I wish I didn't have to go back,” Jongdae mutters. “I miss hanging out with you.”

 

“Me too,” Yixing smiles sadly. “But I'm only a phone call away, and we'll see each other again during moving day.”

 

“But I shouldn't distract you that day. You'll get injured,” Jongdae says coyly.

 

“I like being distracted by you,” the elder admits before tugging Jongdae closer. “You make the cutest pout whenever you want my attention.”

 

“I do not pout!” the younger glares, and he unconsciously pouts.

 

Yixing grins as he taps his point finger against his lips, causing the younger to step back in embarrassment.

 

“Bye,” Jongdae tells him, trying to run away from his feelings.

 

But Yixing is too smart to be fooled and the elder waited too long for this. He doesn't want to wait another day.

 

“Jongdae,” he calls the younger's name once he manages to grip the younger's arms gently as they face each other. “Can I tell you a secret?”

 

“It's not like you're letting me leave even if I say no,” the younger mutters.

 

“It's something I haven't told anyone, not even Luhan,” the elder says seriously, ignoring the younger's rant. 

 

Jongdae looks up at Yixing's face, curious on what he'd say.

 

“What?”

 

“I've been on different dates, and many of them wanted me to kiss them by the end of the date…”

 

“Wow, good for you…” Jongdae states unhappily, already hating this secret.

 

“But this is the first time where I'm nervous,” the elder says truthfully. “I’ve been wanting to kiss you all day, and I can't help but think if I'll mess up and then our first kiss is ruined. To me, you might as well be my first kiss.”

 

Jongdae reddens at his words and whines incoherently. His heart is beating too fast to his liking.

 

“Why do you keep saying these things? I swear you're just saying it to make me fluster.”

 

“I'm not,” Yixing chuckles a little. “I'm just nervous and I want you to know why.”

 

The elder wraps his left arm around the younger's waist and his right hand palms his cheek.

 

“I really like you Jongdae,” Yixing says sincerely.

 

The elder leans forward until their breaths mingle, and he doesn't hesitate anymore as he softly presses his lips against Jongdae. 

 

The younger closes his eyes as he feels the soft press of Yixing's lips. His ears block out the sound of nearby passerby and loud construction. He unconsciously steps closer to the embrace, loving the warmth and security.

 

As they pull apart, merely 5 seconds later, Jongdae can't help but smile back at Yixing's happy expression.

 

“You don't have to say it now,” the elder says to him since he knows that Jongdae won't admit his feelings so easily. “As long as you'll let me be with you, I'm already happy.”

 

Jongdae melts happily at those words and he thinks that fate is wonderful.

 

“What do you think?” The elder asks. “Will you be my omega?”

 

The younger blushes at those words and his stomach did a flip. He has heard that question so many times in movies and in shows, but hearing it in person is  _ so _ much better.

 

“What if I want to think about it?” Jongdae wonders.

 

“You can. This is a difficult decision. You should know that I don't like sharing, and I can be very possessive,” the elder says, as if to point out that he's serious about them remaining monogamous.

 

Not every alpha thinks this way. Some alphas may decide to date two omegas, but Yixing hates that concept.

 

“Okay.”

 

“Alright, you can let me know…”

 

“No, I mean...yes...to that question…” Jongdae stutters as he feels nervous telling the truth.

 

“Really?” Yixing asks softly as he can't believe it. 

 

“Yeah,” he smiles.

 

He doesn't expect Yixing to kiss him again, let alone feel the elder's lips move against his and the teasing lick of his tongue. It's mind numbing and Jongdae has to catch his breath by the time he pulls away.

 

Even after that kiss, he's still staring at Yixing's lips, wanting  _ so _ much more than just that.

 

“Come on,” the elder tells him. “I don't want your hyung to banish me from seeing you.”

 

Jongdae follows numbly, but he's thinking that he's screwed. Yixing's kisses are too wonderful, and he somehow can't wait when they start exploring new things. 

 

*******************

 

 

********************

**End of June 2018**

 

 


	5. July 2018

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scenes from July 2018

 

********************

**End Of July 2018**

 

 

********************

**3 Days Ago**

 

 

 


	6. August 2018

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scenes from August 2018

**August 4 2018 - Day of Party**

 

It's still nerve wrecking for Jongdae to come, but he's determined to do this for Yixing. He reckons he won't be forced to stay long, so maybe he can just drink some beer and dance for an hour or two.

 

After all, this is what a relationship is about. Compromise and understanding each other.

 

He's still indecisive about what he wants to do with their relationship during the four months, but he knows that for now, he just wants to be happy. And he knows that he's happiest with Yixing.

 

So he lets Baekhyun dress him up, and there's probably more make up in his face that he'll look like a dolled up omega, but he wants to look good. Especially if someone ends up taking his picture tonight. He wants these annoying fans to envy him for once.

 

There's confidence inside him as he gets off the taxi. He texts Luhan to come down as he doesn't want Yixing to see him yet.

 

“Why can't Yifan come down or something? Why must it be Luhan?” Baekhyun grumbles.

 

“I thought you two made up. Didn't you go on dates with him?” Jongdae teases.

 

“They were _pity_ dates,” Baekhyun says haughtily. “And I told him he can't kiss me.”

 

“Still waiting for Minseok?” Jongdae rolls his eyes.

 

“No,” Baekhyun says truthfully. “I told him he has to accomplish a challenge first, and that my kiss will be his prize.”

 

“Seriously?” Jongdae says deadpanned. “Why are you making him work so hard?”

 

“ _Otherwise_ , he'll get what he wants and leave me after.”

 

“And _you_ tell me I'm scared of being happy,” Jongdae mutters before he notices Luhan, waving at the elder.

 

“Hey,” Luhan grins before noticing Baekhyun trying to look aloof. “You both look very handsome tonight, especially you Baekhyun.”

 

“Of course I do,” Baekhyun scoffs. “Can we go in now?”

 

“Of course,” Luhan smiles, not letting Baekhyun's words affect him.

 

As they follow Luhan inside the building, Jongdae has to adjust to the dim lights. They probably purposely made it darker so it'd have the ambience of a club.

 

The entrance to the VIP is seperate from the general crowd, so Jongdae doesn't have to face his classmates once he enters. The VIP area is actually above the main dance area, and the fences have dark glass, to prevent people from seeing them. He soon realizes that it's still empty and he wonders if they're too early despite the fact that it's almost 8 pm.

 

He doesn't mind though, especially when there are so many good finger food in the table.

 

“Thank god,” Jongdae mutters. “I'm so hungry.”

 

Baekhyun judges him for ruining the strawberry lip gloss, but he knows that Jongdae loves food too much to care.

 

“I'll be right back. I'll get Yixing to come up.”

 

Jongdae waves him off, uncaring as he tries another pigs in a blanket.

 

“This is really good,” Jongdae tells Baekhyun who keeps shaking his head in disappointment.

 

“I'll never understand how Yixing find your messy eating endearing.”

 

“I'm really hungry...shut up.”

 

Baekhyun rolls his eyes before noticing Yixing's arrival.

 

“Hyung!” Baekhyun smiles and waves, feeling happy as Jongdae swallows his food in a hurry.

 

As Jongdae stands to greet his boyfriend, his heart flutters at the sight of Yixing's joyful expression.

 

It takes the elder 3 strides before he's standing in front of Jongdae. A warm hand palms his cheek and Jongdae doesn't hesitate as he leans up and kisses the elder's lips.

 

Neither seem to care about Baekhyun's disgusted expression as they deepen the kiss.

 

“You came,” Yixing smiles so widely. “You don't know how happy I am.”

 

“I'm only staying for a bit though,” Jongdae tells him. “Just to show my support for F4.”

 

“As long as I get to dance with you first,” Yixing grins.

 

********************

 

Jongin normally _hates_ parties. It's loud and people tend to push each other.

 

But Taemin wouldn't stop bothering him about going to a club or trying out something new. So when F4 extends their invitation, Jongin knew he couldn't get out of this.

 

That is why he's all dressed up, and too dolled up that it makes him uncomfortable. He wanted to protest, but Taemin kept telling him that no alpha wants a bare faced omega.

 

Sometimes Jongin wants to hit his friend for being mean, but he also know that it's probably true. Plus, it's not like he's looking for an alpha right now. He's too young to be thinking about that.

 

“Let's go to the dance floor,” Taemin says adamantly.

 

“But I'm hungry,” Jongin whines. “Can't we eat first.”

 

“You're always hungry,” Taemin rolls his eyes. “I just want to dance for like 15 minutes and then we can eat, okay? Please Nini,” the elder pouts.

 

“Fine,” Jongin huffs. “But you better not grind your dick on me.”

 

“Aw, come on. You have the softest butt.”

 

“You're disgusting! We're practically brothers!”

 

“ _Fake_ brothers,” Taemin reminds him.

 

“Ugh,” Jongin gags before walking closer to the dance floor. He hesitates once he sees how many people there are.

 

“Ignore them,” Taemin reminds him, pulling him closer. “Just listen to the song and dance.”

 

Jongin nods before letting his body sway to the music.

 

*******************

 

Chanyeol doesn't normally dance in these parties, but some omegas pulled him to the floor and he's forced to awkwardly shake his hips.

 

They giggle as they try to dance with him, but he knows that he looks uncool and possibly making them feel second-hand embarrassment. However, he's not the type to give up just because people might judge him.

 

So he dances carefree and he's actually having fun.

 

He doesn't even notice how some people start to gather to the middle, where the confident dancers are. He only notices once some people start cheering, and he wonders what's going on.

 

He stops in mid dance and walks towards it, wondering if someone started a dance competition. The last time they had that was when Luhan encouraged the dancers in dance club to compete with each other. But he doesn't remember Luhan telling him that the dancers would do it for this party too.

 

As he gets closer, he notices two dancers, dancing so passionately that they don't notice the crowd. They both look familiar to him, but he can't really see the face unless he goes closer. It seems impossible since the crowd won't let him.

 

But he can see one thing for sure.

 

The alluring body that curves seductively, and the way the crowd cheers when that person touches himself.

 

It's almost too provocative, and it makes his body warm. He can feel the desire thrumming, and it doesn't stop pumping in his veins. He thinks he can get drunk in this feeling.

 

He wants to know that person's name, and he wants to _touch_ him in so many different ways. He keeps wondering if he'll recognize that person, or will he have to charm him?

 

As the song starts to change to something slow, he watches how the other dancer pulls his friend into an embrace as they dance slowly to a ballad. Chanyeol frowns at the sight, feeling jealous at the mere thought that they might be lovers.

 

He doesn't even pay attention to the omegas who are pulling him to dance with them.

 

He feels the need to interrupt that couple. Maybe he can steal a dance from that beautiful dancer.

 

He walks closer, determined to seduce this person, and then he halts once he realizes who they are.

 

“I'm hungry,” Chanyeol can hear him say. “You said we can eat 2 songs ago.”

 

“Alright,” Taemin says exasperatedly. “We can go after this song and we'll even order chicken if they don't have any.”

 

Jongin smiles brightly at the sound of that treat.

 

 _You really do have the prettiest smile_ \-- Chanyeol thinks as he stares longingly at the younger.

 

************************

 

Jongin hurriedly runs upstairs and he grins widely once he sees his brothers there, as well as the abundant food.

 

“Oh my god! This is heaven!” He exclaims before grabbing each kind of appetizers and placing it into a plate.

 

“I can imagine your hunger. I'd be too if I danced like that,” Yixing chuckles.

 

“You can dance?” Taemin asks cheekily before Minseok swats at him for being rude.

 

“That's not how you call someone older,” Minseok scolds him.

 

“I'm sorry, _hyung_ ,” Taemin corrects himself, but doesn't say it too sincerely. Luckily, Yixing doesn't seem to be offended.

 

“Yixing and I are actually in the dance club,” Luhan tells them. “You should join it, Nini. I bet you would love it.”

 

“Really?” Jongin says after gulping his food. “Do you guys also compete?”

 

“Of course,” Luhan scoffs. “We've won some awards too. We would have gotten first place if Yixing wasn't too busy…”

 

Luhan glares at him as Yixing shrugs.

 

“I was on my last year and you expect me to have time for F4 _and_ dancing,” Yixing rolls his eyes.

 

“Anyway, Yixing promises that this year he'll make time, so we're aiming for that grand prize.”

 

“Ohh that sounds so cool,” Jongin says in awed. “Now I really can't wait for school to start.”

 

“Actually, the members start rehearsing 2 weeks before the semester starts, and we recruit new members in the first week of school. I'll let you know when to show up.”

 

Jongin gives a thumb up since he's still currently sucking off the meat of chicken wing.

 

“I didn't know you compete in dancing,” Jongdae interrupts. “I haven't seen you dance competitively yet.”

 

“You can come and watch our show,” Yixing smiles as he squeezes the younger's knee.

 

“Yeah, we don't allow significant others to watch the rehearsal anymore,” Luhan states. “The moves we do are too sexy.”

 

Luhan winks at Baekhyun, who rolls his eyes. The younger is currently beside Luhan, and Minseok takes the seat on his other side.

 

Jongdae smirks at Baekhyun as he knows that his friend is probably sweating from too much feelings.

 

Only Minseok seems to be unhappy by that flirty move.

 

“I hope you're ready to deal with his anxiety issue,” Taemin tells them. “He has stage fright. It's the only reason why he didn't join a dance academy.”

 

“Ah, really? Well, some of the members also had that problem, but we'll help you too,” Luhan promises.

 

“You can start small,” Yixing says. “You can be in the background and slowly work your way to a solo.”

 

“We can get solo?!” Jongin says amazed.

 

“Well, it's only a few seconds, and we only give them to 5 dancers, but we encourage everyone to try their best.”

 

“By the time you're in your fourth year, you can help create the choreography,” Yixing adds.

 

“Is that what you'll do this year?” Jongdae wonders.

 

“Some of it. I also have to train the new members. Luhan doesn't have the patience for it.”

 

“Yay,” Jongin grins. “That means we'll spend more time together, hyung.”

 

Yixing chuckles and nods before giving the younger a high five.

 

Someone clears their throat behind, and they glance at the new arrival.

 

“Oh, this is Mark. We're training him to carry on the F4 legacy,” Luhan explains as if it's a business deal. “What is it?”

 

“Chanyeol ordered chicken and it just arrived. Should I bring it up?”

 

“Sure, it looks like Jongin finished all our chicken anyway,” Luhan tells him.

 

Everyone looks at Jongin's plate that's full of chicken bones. Minseok facepalms himself at seeing the damage, while Taemin tsks at the younger.

 

“I was really hungry,” Jongin pouts.

 

“There are other food, Nini,” Jongdae says exasperatedly. “You should try some of these,” he points to the pigs in blankets and mini meat quiche.

 

“But they're not chicken…”

 

“I'm so sorry. I can't seem to get his obsession with chicken to disappear,” Minseok begins to apologize.

 

“Don't worry about it. Sometimes we end up throwing too much food away. At least, we know someone is willing to finish all the chicken.”

 

“Yep! I'll finish it all,” Jongin grins.

 

Mark comes back with three other servers who bring a bunch of chicken.

 

“Wow. Was Chanyeol craving chicken or something?” Yixing asks amused.

 

They can see three different kinds, barbecued chicken, fried chicken and more chicken wings.

 

Jongin doesn't seem shy as he takes a few from each plate. Even Jongdae is tempted on trying the fried chicken.

 

“I really love the crispness of this chicken,” Jongdae tells Yixing as he licks his finger. He rips off a piece and offers it to the elder, wondering if Yixing would try.

 

He grins as Yixing takes it and he waits for Yixing to tell him if he likes it.

 

“It's good,” Yixing surmises. “Feed me more.”

 

“Okay,” Jongdae grins before he starts peeling more chicken meat.

 

As Luhan watches in envy, he suddenly realizes that he can use that trick too!

 

He grabs a chicken breast and starts to peel a piece. He blows into it before he faces to Baekhyun, trying to feed the younger.

 

“What are you doing?” Baekhyun deadpans.

 

“Try it,” Luhan pouts.

 

As Baekhyun glares at him, he doesn't notice Minseok is doing the same thing. But this time, the elder picks a chicken leg.

 

“He doesn't like breast. He prefers chicken leg,” Minseok glares at Luhan. “Baekhyunnie, try this one.” He holds up the chicken leg to near his mouth.

 

Baekhyun looks speechless. He doesn't know which chicken he should eat, because truthfully, he wants both. But is it right to want 2 alphas?

 

**************

 

“ _Finally_ , some beers!,” Taemin exclaims as the server brings bottles of beers.

“Ah, can you also bring coke? He can't drink,” Minseok asks for Jongin and the server nods.

“Hyung~ when are you going to let me drink?” Jongin pouts

“When you stop associating the word 'icky’ with vegetables,” the eldest rolls his eyes.

“But they _are_ icky…” Jongin mumbles.

“He'll probably get drunk before he finishes one bottle,” Taemin snickers as he comments about Jongin.

“As if you can drink much! You get drunk after 2 bottles!” Jongin accuses.

“You both have bad tolerance, why does it matter?” Jongdae rolls his eyes. “I think only Minseok hyung has the best tolerance out of all of us.”

Luhan scoffs beside them, rolling his eyes.

The server finally returns with Jongin’s coke, and the younger is ecstatic from drinking something other than water.

“Come on,” Taemin nudges Jongin. “I want to go back to the dance floor.”

Jongin holds up his point finger to indicate ‘one minute’ as he gulps down half of his drink before standing up.

“You just ate,” Minseok says worriedly. “Take it easy or you’ll throw up.”

Jongin grumbles in annoyance, tired of his hyungs scolding him, so he grabs Taemin’s wrist and pulls him back downstairs.

“Ah, he’s adorable,” Yixing comments. “No wonder you guys dote on him so much.”

Jongdae pouts at hearing those words, showing his displeasure. Yixing pecks his lips for reassurance.

Minseok doesn’t seem to like it as he frowns at the sight, glaring at Yixing. Just because he gave permission, it doesn’t mean he has to like it.

“I think I gave you enough time. I want my dance now,” Yixing reminds Jongdae with a teasing smile.

“But I’m _really_ horrible at it. I might end up stepping on your feet too many times,” Jongdae argues.

“I don’t care,” Yixing shakes his head. “You promised.”

“Fine,” he grumbles, getting up.

As they stand up to leave, they notice Chanyeol climbing up the stairs. This time, he looks a lot different than the first time they saw him.

“Did you change your shirt?” Yixing asks, noticing the difference.

“No,” Chanyeol splutters. “I mean, kind of. Someone spilled a drink on me.”

“Okay,” Yixing says amusedly with raise eyebrow. He’s starting to suspect something, but figuring that out can wait as he pulls Jongdae gently to follow him.

Chanyeol walks to the table, noticing that it’s only 3 people. He frowns as he realizes that someone already left.

“Yo, nice shirt,” Luhan teases.

“Thanks,” Chanyeol deadpans. “It looks like the chicken came…”

He eyes at the fact that almost all of the chicken are gone.

“Yeah, Jongin kept eating it,” Luhan shrugs.

“Sorry about that,” Minseok apologizes. “I can order more if you’d like.”

“Oh it’s alright. I actually ordered that for him, ah, i mean everyone,” Chanyeol quickly fixes his slip up.

It seems only Baekhyun notices his mistake as he smirks at the taller.

“They’re pretty good,” Baekhyun comments. “I’m sure Jongin will end up finishing it after he finishes dancing _downstairs_.”

“Ah, right,” Chanyeol catches the hint. “Anyway, I should go back downstairs. Keep the guests entertained since _Luhan_ is just sitting here…”

“Why are you blaming me? Yifan isn’t doing his share either,” Luhan frowns.

“You _want_ him to dance in the floor?” Chanyeol raises an eyebrow.

“Alright!” Luhan relents as he knows that Yifan can be a safety hazard once the elder starts doing this helicopter move that he learned from Youtube.

This is why they rely on Yifan for leadership qualities, not on dancing quality.

“You’re going down?” Baekhyun asks, almost disappointed that both alphas are not fighting over him anymore.

“You can join and dance with me,” Luhan smirks.

“He’s fine right here,” Minseok comments while putting a hand on Baekhyun’s knee, glaring at the taller.

“Maybe you should let him decide,” Luhan retorts.

As both alphas look at him, Baekhyun gulps trying to think of an answer.

“I guess a little dancing might be nice.” Baekhyun ends up relenting and Luhan smirks at his response. “I’m not that good though, so I’d rather watch people dance.

“You can watch me dance instead,” Luhan says coyly.

“Baekhyunnie, you like watching me dance, right?” Minseok says sweetly.

A flashing image of Minseok dancing sexily appears in the younger’s mind. He gulps as he remembers how horny he got after watching that.

“Um, well…”

“Why don’t we have a little competition then?” Luhan suggests. “They’ll put on a song, and we’ll take turns. Baekhyun can decide who did it the best.”

“Fine,” Minseok agrees. “That sounds fair.”

“Um…” Baekhyun tries to disagree as he doesn’t see how he can choose fairly, but both alphas ignore him.

Maybe this is what hell, or is it heaven, feels like.

 

**********************

 

Junmyeon normally doesn’t go to these kind of parties. It feels overwhelming for him. He’s an extrovert to his friends, but he’s an introvert to outsiders. Therefore, being forced to be social to numerous people feel a bit distressing, and he’s trying to smile, but it comes off a bit weird.

He sighs in relief when they finally reach the VIP area and he can finally calm down a little.

He watches as Minseok walks to Baekhyun, worrying about the younger. He thinks it’s sweet, but he also knows that his hyung is just being possessive ever since Luhan started to take Baekhyun out on dates. He doesn’t know if his hyung will ever admit his feelings, but he hopes that the elder will _finally_ get a clue.

He also notices how Taemin and Jongin have ditched them, possibly already in the dance floor. He supposes he’ll be stuck here with Minseok hyung and Baekhyun until they leave.

It’d have been okay if it was just the three of them, but then Luhan shows up and suddenly, he can feel the unresolved sexual tension between the three of them.

He tries to ignore it, as he takes out his phone, and starts reading random fan fictions. It’s one of his favorite thing to do and he’s too embarrassed to admit it other than to his brothers. Even then, Jongdae likes to tease him for being such a fanboy.

It’s not _his_ fault that reading Red Velvet fan fictions make him happy. It’s really the writer’s fault for instilling this.

Anyway, he smiles awkwardly as he notices Yixing and Jongdae coming back to the VIP room. Apparently, Yixing was showing the awesome view in the balcony for Jongdae.

“It looks really nice, hyung,” Jongdae tells him, smiling brightly.

Junmyeon can’t help but smile back. He’s really glad that Jongdae manages to find an alpha as sweet as Yixing. It seems so rare these days.

“Do you want to see it? We can go back,” Yixing asks.

“Oh, no, it’s fine.”

“It’s actually more quiet out there than in here,” Jongdae admits. “I know you’re not really happy to be here, so I wanted to at least make you see the view.”

“No! Don’t say that,” Junmyeon argues. “I mean it is loud, but I’m not unhappy or anything like that. I’m okay here.”

As he says that, he sees someone going up the stairs and he turns his head to see Yifan heading towards them. He panics at seeing his handsome face and he looks down to the ground, hoping that he can become invisible with the air.

“Kris!” Junmyeon hears Yixing calling him out. “Give me your phone. I’ll deal with the callers before you curse your phone again.”

“I really wish you guys would give me the old nokia phone instead,” the elder frowns.

Teaching Yifan on how to use android is a pain, but they need him to use it for day to day F4 activities. Especially since they use Whatsapp to communicate.

“Caveman,” Luhan mumbles under his breath, complaining.

“Anyway, be kind and show Junmyeon the balcony,” Yixing tells him.

“No!” Junmyeon practically squeaks, ears are red from blushing.

“Don’t worry. Kris doesn’t mind. He really loves the view,” Yixing explains.

Yixing makes a signal with his eyes and head, something that only F4 would understand.

“Yeah, Kris. He’s our guest,” Luhan says sweetly after noticing Yixing’s signal.

Yifan gulps nervously before nodding his head and clearing his throat.

“Sure,” the eldest says. “Come on.”

 _Go_ \-- Jongdae mouths at Junmyeon before the latter slowly stands up, still feeling embarrassed.

As the two walk to the balcony, Yixing and Luhan share a knowing smile.

 

****************

 

Yifan watches Junmyeon's figure as the younger coos at the pretty lights. It's the first thing the younger notices once they went out, and Junmyeon seems keen on taking a lot of pictures of it.

“Wow,” the younger says again. “I can't believe New York can look so bright at night.”

He turns around to face Yifan, with that gummy adorable smile, and the elder can feel his heart stutters at the sight.

“Sorry,” Junmyeon suddenly says shyly. “I bet you've seen the lights many times. I probably sound like a tourist.”

“It's okay,” Yifan croaks out before clearing his throat. “It's still very pretty.”

“Jongdae was right... it's more quiet here,” the younger notes, looking back to the view.

“You don't like noisy sounds?”

“Oh, um,” the younger blushes, feeling guilty that he's complaining about the party that _Kris_ has prepared. “I don't mean it in a bad way. I just prefer to be home than in a  party.”

“Ah,” Yifan nods. “Yixing did say that. I'm actually surprised that you came….not that I didn't want you to come!”

“Oh,” the younger replies. “I wasn't into the idea, to be honest, but Minseok doesn't like leaving his brothers alone at home. He read a story of how alphas break into homes to attack omegas, and he’s been scared that we'd be targets. He always think about our safety first.”

“He sounds like a sweet brother,” Yifan notes.

“He is,” Junmyeon smiles. “What about you? Any siblings?”

“Nah,” the taller replies. “I've always wanted some though. I guess I kind of got my wish. They're like my brothers.”

He gestures with his head.

Junmyeon grins at him.

“They still count. I think I'd love to have friends that are like brothers to me.”

“You didn't have any?”

“I guess they're more casual friends than best friends,” Junmyeon admits.

“Well, if you ever need a friend, we can be friends,” Yifan says before realizing the gravity of his words.

 _Wait...why the hell did I say that?! I'm going to get friendzoned…_ \-- he starts to think.

“Really?” The younger smiles excitedly. “I'd like that. I'm actually really nervous about starting in a new school for my last year.”

Yifan chuckles nervously as he gulps painfully.

“Let's exchange numbers?” The younger suggests in such a cute way that the elder can’t help but agree.

As Yifan watches Junmyeon save his number, he can't help but frown when he notices that it's saved as 'Kris’.

“Not Kris... it's Yifan,” the elder reminds him.

“Oh, okay,” the younger nods shyly as he changes it.

“And how come that other guy got a star beside his name? I want one too,” the elder pouts childishly, causing the younger to giggle.

“Okay. I'll put two stars for yours,” Junmyeon says. Then he shows Yifan the result. “Good?”

“Yep, and now you gotta call my number so I have yours.”

Junmyeon presses the call button and waits for the phone to ring.

“Oh,” the younger widens his eyes as he notices that someone picked up the call.

“Just hang up,” the elder tells him as he leans in and clicks the red button. “That’s just Yixing answering it.”

Junmyeon nods before looking up, sensing Yifan’s gaze on him. He blushes under the elder’s stare, and immediately walks away, blushing furiously. He walks towards the fence, enjoying the cool air that brushes against his warm cheeks.

He thinks that Yifan might leave him, maybe go to back to entertain the guests. Instead, the elder stands next to him, with a few feet separating them.

“I like New York, but sometimes I’m exhausted by the energy,” Yifan admits. “Sometimes I miss home and want to go back.”

“Where’s your home?”

“Canada,” the elder says and Junmyeon widens his eyes in surprise.

“That’s not very far from here, though. I bet you can go back anytime.”

“I do sometimes. It’s nice to go to a city where you don’t feel like a sardine,” the elder jokes.

“Yeah. One of these days they might end up renaming the subway as ‘a can of people’.”

Yifan glances at him in surprise, and Junmyeon thought that his joke was a miss. Except, the elder starts to laugh in a sincere way, and he smiles widely at the reaction.

It feels nice that he’s not the only one loving these jokes.

 

******************

 

 

 

***************

 

**The Morning After - August 5th**

 

 

Yifan frowns at his phone. He just wanted to send a fucking email and somehow he accidentally clicked an ad. He tried to exit but it wouldn't go back to the original page and he doesn't know how to use this stupid phone.

 _God_ , he wishes that he could just use an old cell phone than this one.

He gives up on figuring this out. He's a mechanical engineer, not a fucking computer scientist. He reckons that Luhan will know better, so he grabs his phone and storms out to find him.

As he passes the living room, he notices a pair of feet sticking out, and he wonders if someone fell asleep there. So he walks closer and he finally recognizes the two figures that are cuddling each other.

He has never seen such an amusing thing. It's rare to see two alphas cuddling, let alone an alpha that would claim he's 'manly’ on a daily basis. He'd take a picture for blackmail, but his stupid phone is frozen, so he goes to Yixing room, hoping the younger is home.

He goes to knock on the door, waiting for a reply.

Yixing comes out, looking a little bit sleepy, but nonetheless awake enough to greet him.

“I want to show you something,” Yifan says with an evil smile and Yixing is curious enough to follow him. “Oh, and bring your phone.”

By the time they both see the alphas, Yixing whistles in surprise and smirks cunningly.

“We should print the photo and get someone to paint it. Then we hang it in the F4 lobby at school,” Yifan whispers to him.

“What about posting it to SNS?” Yixing counter suggests.

“You want your future brother in law to hate your guts?” Yifan raises his eyebrow.

“Fine, fine,” Yixing relents before taking multiple pictures of them.

“Should we wake them now?” Yifan whispers.

“No,” the younger tells him. “Let's see how much longer they'll cuddle.”

Yifan nods as he walks to the kitchen to make breakfast, and Yixing follows him.

 

******************

 

“So...did you get cock blocked?” Yifan wonders as they drink their tea while staring at the sleeping alphas.

“Yeah...freaking Baekhyun came in when I wanted to take his shirt off.”

“Nice,” Yifan smirks at him.

“I'm serious about him though,” Yixing tells him, frowning at the idea that people might mistakenly think they're just a fling. “I wasn't expecting him to be ready so fast, but I'd wait for him if he asked me to.”

“I know,” Yifan says softly. “I wouldn't think otherwise. You're very soft with him, more than I've ever seen in the past.”

“He's just amazing,” Yixing smiles. “Plus, last night, I think it was just the heat of the moment. We haven't seen each other in a while and I have a feeling his heat is coming up.”

“Oh? You think he's telling you that he wants you to help with his heat?”

“I don't know,” Yixing says nervously. “I'd love to, but at the same time, I'm not rushing this. I'm more looking forward to seeing him wake up in the morning than having sex. It sounds weird, but I just want to spend as much time with him before I'll be so busy with law school.”

“No, I get it,” Yifan tells him. “I wish I could have that feeling too. To fall for someone and to want spend every moment with them. I guess I always feel I wouldn't be ready.”

“Why don't you try with Junmyeon? I know he's not your usual supermodel boyfriends..” Yixing states as he rolls his eyes.

“Nah, I don't want supermodels anymore. It's not about that with Junmyeon,” Yifan admits. “I think he's sweet and funny, but he's still naive and probably never dated before.”

“You want someone more experienced?”

“No, I just don't want to be his first heartbreak. I'd rather be the guy that he falls in love with _after_ he got his first heartbreak.”

“Or you can just _not_ break his heart and keep him forever.”

“Have you _not_ seen my dating style?” Yifan deadpans. “I don't really call back and I'm horrible at remembering dates. He deserves better than that.”

Yixing eyes him thoughtfully, as if he thinks differently.

“Plus, you know what my stupid brain made me say last night? 'Let's be friends!’,” the elder complains. “As if that's what I _really_ want.”

Yixing laughs at him, but knows the exact feeling.

“I said the same thing to Jongdae, you know.”

“And how long did it take you to become more than friends?”

“7 months, BUT there was so many moments I could have told him about my feelings. I was just too scared that he might not feel the same.”

“That was stupid,” Yifan tells him. “He obviously likes you since forever.”

“Yeah,” Yixing sighs regretfully. “Anyway, I'm going to tell you what I'd have told myself months ago. ‘Go after him’. I know you'll disagree right now, but you'll hate it even more once he starts dating some other alpha.”

“Well, i could always threaten the alpha that wants him,” Yifan teases as he recalls Yixing doing that. “What was his name again? Ed?”

“Evan,” Yixing spits out his name. “But it was easier to threaten him because Jongdae didn't like him. I think if Jongdae liked him, I couldn't be that heartless.”

“Why not? You're afraid Jongdae might find out and get mad?”

“Yeah, it's one thing to get rid of competition, but to tell Jongdae that he'd be happier with me than with his crush, I'd look like the biggest asshole.”

“Hmm, that is true.”

“Anyway, you _should_ worry. I heard from Jongdae that Junmyeon was pretty popular with the alphas.”

“How?” Yifan frowns. “He doesn't even know what _buns_ mean.”

“It doesn't mean that nice alphas aren't going after him.”

“Maybe we should hold an alpha event where we can tell them that the brothers are off limit,” Yifan suggests as he frowns.

“Wow, I never thought I'd see the day when you'd use your power for selfish reasons.”

“It's not selfish if your omega and Jongin are included too.”

“Sure,” Yixing pretends to agree despite smirking knowingly.

 

************

 

**August 8th**

 

****

 

 

***************

 

Yixing grins once he sees Jongdae's figure standing beside their favorite coffee shop. He sneaks quietly to scare him, but Jongdae is always too keen to not notice. Therefore, the younger turns around before Yixing is even 3 feet close to him.

“Aw, come on,” Yixing pouts. “Why won't you get scared for me?”

Jongdae chuckles before pulling the elder into a hug. He can already smell the vanilla ice cream scent coming from the alpha, and he groans internally, thinking about eating some ice cream.

The elder kisses his forehead, and hugs him closer. It’s a nice feeling to be able to see each other again. He then burrows his face into the younger’s hair. There’s a mix scent of honey oatmeal shampoo, and earl grey tea.

He remembers the first time he noticed Jongdae’s scent, always wondering why he’d smell a different flavor of tea each time he met the omega. Now, he knows; Jongdae will always have the scent of a roasted tea, and each day can be a different flavor.

He thinks it’s funny how he’ll crave a cup of earl grey today, and Jongdae will crave a specific food. They both truly brings out each other’s cravings.

“How was your day?” the alpha mumbles into his hair.

“Okay,” Jongdae replies before pushing off the clingy alpha.

The younger thinks that he should tell Yixing the bad news now, before the elder distracts him with stories and kisses.

“Where do you want to go today?” The alpha always asks, because he knows that Jongdae is most likely craving something special.

“Let’s just take a walk,” the younger licks his lips nervously. “I want to tell you something.”

“Okay,” Yixing agrees as he grabs the younger’s hand.

“Did you made up with Baekhyun after the party?” he starts to wonder. “I hope you’re not still mad at him.”

“No, we did,” the younger tells him. “From now on, I don’t tell him where we’re going.”

“What if he looks through your phone?” Yixing teases.

“I changed the lock code, so now I use my fingerprint,” Jongdae sticks his tongue out.

“Ouh fancy,” the elder smiles. “My _smart_ omega.”

Jongdae nudges him in embarrassment before letting go of Yixing’s hand and runs into a nearby bench. He takes one end of the bench, and pats the other side for his alpha.

“Let’s sit here for a bit,” the younger suggests.

Yixing sits right next to him, their legs press against each other.

“Not too close,” Jongdae whines nervously.

“Why not?” the elder chuckles. “You didn’t mind how close we sat the other night.”

“Well, I was drunk,” the younger argues, feeling shy as he remembers how turned on he was.

The alpha relents though as he scoots a bit further away, but he still takes Jongdae’s hand into his hands.

“What did you want to talk about?” the alpha wonders.

“Um, well,” he starts nervously, and he can already feel Yixing’s intense gaze on him. “I guess how school is starting soon...”

“And you’re worried about F4 fans?” the elder asks seriously.

“No,” Jongdae denies before realizing that he’s scared of that for _next_ year. “I mean, not just that.”

“Okay, tell me.”

“Well, first, do you remember the interview I got last month?”

“Mhm.”

“They offered me the internship…”

“Really?” Yixing breaks into a wide smile. “That’s awesome, baby.”

Jongdae tries to continue, but the elder pulls him into a hug. The sudden warmth distracts him from his concentration, and he has to force himself to focus before pushing Yixing away.

“That’s not all,” Jongdae tells him anxiously. “They’re offering it to me in L.A.”

“L.A?” the alpha’s expression turns serious. “The other side of the country?”

“Yeah,” Jongdae looks away from the alpha’s gaze. “I already said yes.”

“Oh,” the younger hears the elder say, but it sounds too quiet.

For a second, he thinks that Yixing might be speechless, or that the elder might get angry, but then he sees the elder’s hand reaching for his hand again.

“That’s great,” he can hear Yixing say it, but it doesn’t sound as sincere as before.

“You don’t mean that,” the younger accuses, pulling his hand back. “You’re not happy for me.”

The elder looks surprised by that sentence, but then he looks down in shame, as if he knows that he was wrong to say that.

“I’m trying to, but it’s hard,” Yixing tells him with a sad smile. “I’m not going to see you every day, and I’m going to hate that. But I know that this is an awesome opportunity so you should take it.”

“I know…” the younger says quietly.

“And it’s going to be okay,” the elder reminds him. “I’ll see you every few weekends. We can finally have that trip we talked about...the one where we go to the beach? I’m sure L.A. has many beaches.”

Jongdae freezes at those words, because he should have known that Yixing wouldn’t let him go so easily. But he doesn’t want that...he wants the elder to have his freedom.

“You shouldn’t visit me,” he says almost too softly. “I think it’s better if we spend the four months apart.”

“What are you talking about?” Yixing frowns. “Of course I’ll visit you. I’m your alpha, and…”

“Well, I don’t want you to be!” the younger argues. “At least, not for those 4 months.”

“Jongdae…” Yixing growls in frustration. “Why are you saying that? We agreed weeks ago, remember? You said ‘yes’ to me, and we were going to do this seriously.”

“I know!” the younger exclaims in frustration with tears in his eyes. “But I don’t want to say goodbye to you every weekend. It’s already hard enough for me to choose L.A. over you, and now…”

“What are you saying then? That I can’t see you at all? Not even for your birthday?” the elder whispers in defeat. “I don’t _want_ that. I can’t just stay in New York and not miss you.”

Jongdae wipes his eyes quickly with his palm, and Yixing’s heart breaks a little from seeing his omega cry.

“Dae,” the elder says softly while wiping his tears. “I’m sorry. Don’t cry.”

The younger shakes his head, gently pushing Yixing’s hand away, trying to calm himself.

“What do you want to do then? Are you giving up on us?” the elder asks melancholy. “Because I’m not going to, even if you tell me to,” he says adamantly.

Jongdae can’t help but chuckle a little from those words.

“Can we pause?” he whispers in the end. “Until January.”

“Okay,” Yixing relents despite looking somber about it. “But _only_ when we’re apart. I still want to kiss you when I visit.”

“Ge!” the younger complains.

“You can’t change my mind about this,” the elder argues. “I’m coming to see you for your birthday.”

“What about your birthday?” the younger smiles sadly.

“I don’t know...maybe I’ll get drunk and pass out from loneliness,” the elder jokes, but Jongdae doesn’t seem to find it funny as he frowns.

“No, I’ll come and celebrate with you,” the younger promises. “I don’t want you sad on your birthday.”

Yixing smiles before he palms Jongdae’s cheek and leans in to kiss him. And he doesn’t stop kissing the younger until Jongdae pulls him away, laughing brightly.

“I’m still yours, you know,” Yixing tells him seriously. “Even if we’re pausing this, I won’t stop thinking about you.”

“You don’t have to,” Jongdae tells him with a somber smile. “You can go on dates or hangout with other omegas.”

“Is that what you want?” the elder asks gravely. “Are you going to go out with other alphas when I’m not there?”

“Well, no,” the younger admits. “But you might be tempted more, and…”

Yixing silences him with a kiss, this time more possessive than before.

“I only want you,” the elder murmurs. “Don’t say those words, not unless you mean it.”

Jongdae stares at his eyes, full of adoration and sincerity. Suddenly, he finds himself wanting to say the words that he has always kept inside. He thinks about saying it now, that maybe it’s a great moment to do it, but he knows that it’s too early to admit. Maybe he’ll wait for Yixing to say it first.

 

 ***********

 

 

***************

 

**1 week later**

 

 

*****************

_**Flashbacks of Luhan and Minseok rivalry, started from when they cuddled** _

 

**************

**back to present**

 

*********

 

“You're wearing his shirt again,” Baekhyun teases once Jongdae sits back down across him.

“Shut up,” Jongdae glares despite blushing. It's not his fault that Yixing's shirts fit him, and that it smells nice.

They're back at their favorite ice cream shop. This time, it's not about eating their sorrows. It's about using ice cream as comfort food.

Baekhyun was the one who needed this before Jongdae leaves. For as long as he could remember, there wasn't a time where he was separated from Jongdae for longer than a few weeks. The next four months will be hard for him since Jongdae has always been his rock.

Despite his tendencies of being a busybody, he also has a sensitive side that only a few are able to see. Jongdae has seen it many times, and he's usually the one pulling Baekhyun out of his emotional state. Fortunately, Baekhyun isn't in that state yet, where the elder has too many emotions and feels overwhelmed. Today, he's mostly anxious, because his love life feels disarrayed.

“Okay, so tell me. What happened in the last date?” Jongdae gets right to the point, otherwise Baekhyun will try to distract him with nonsense questions.

“Nothing happened,” Baekhyun shrugs. “We ate, I let him walk me home and I didn't completely hate it when he hugged me.”

“Okay,” Jongdae trails off as he stares at Baekhyun's expression. “But did you finally let him kiss you?”

“No,” Baekhyun scoffs. “He hasn't earned it.”

“It's been a month. How much longer before he earns it?”

“I don't know,” the elder replies with a sigh.

“I know it's not your first kiss. You've kissed other alphas before, so why are you making this so complicated?”

“I'm not making it complicated. I just…”

Jongdae raises an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation.

“It's like how you've always imagined when you wanted to kiss Yixing. You imagine it'd be nice and there would be butterflies swirling around during the kiss. Then when you guys finally kissed, that's what happened right?”

“I'm not telling you that,” Jongdae scowls, knowing Baekhyun just want the naughty details.

“Fine,” Baekhyun pouts. “But I have that imagination too, that it'd be nice.”

“And you think that when you finally do it, it won't be nice?”

“No, I think it'll be. I've heard the rumors, you know. I'm sure he can kiss well,” Baekhyun boasts.

“Right.”

“I just...I don't know what I'd do if I end up liking it. Does this mean I'll give up on Minseok hyung? Does this mean I'll end up choosing between them?”

“What's the alternative? To remain single until hyung realizes his feelings? We both know he'd only realize his feelings if you tell him.”

“I know. I mean, I don't want to be lonely that long, but I'm just scared of regretting it. I'm scared that after the kiss, I'll like Luhan even more. Then I'll never know what would happen between me and Minseok hyung.”

“This is why I said to just tell him how you feel,” Jongdae glares. 

“I know, I know,” the elder pouts. “But we live together now. What if we're wrong about his feelings? What if he's just overprotective, like he is with you and Yixing? I don't want things to be awkward between us if he doesn't feel the same way.”

“It won't be awkward because he  _ does _ like you,” Jongdae groans. “He has never gone the extra length to actually call me every week to see how I'm doing. He just  _ texts _ , and even then it's short texts.”

The elder purses his lips before scooping a huge chunk of ice cream into his mouth, not wanting to comment on Jongdae's reply.

“Do you want me to tell him? I know how to say it subtly, unlike your method of exposing me,” Jongdae frowns at the memory of Baekhyun forcing Yixing to confess to him.

“No, its okay,” the elder finally says. “I know he probably does have some feelings, but I don't know if my feelings are that strong anymore.”

“What do you mean? You don't like him that much anymore?”

“I do like him, but I'm starting to like Luhan too. I don't want to tell him that I like two alphas and that I can't choose between him and Luhan.”

“But I thought you said you don't like Luhan that much yet. That it's just a tiny crush.”

“It's tiny, but it's growing, you know,” Baekhyun says with a small smile. “He can be annoying with how competitive he is, but he's also sweet. The other day, we were at this restaurant and this waiter was looking down at me, because he can smell my scent. So he got mad at the waiter for being so rude.”

Jongdae grins as he watches Baekhyun animatedly talk about that moment.

“I mean, I could have defended myself too, but it's just sweet that he defended me before I needed to,” Baekhyun smiles in the end. “Plus, he always look hot when he's mad.”

“It sounds more than a tiny crush,” Jongdae comments.

Baekhyun doesn't deny it, but the younger can tell he's right judging by the blush.

“I really wanted to kiss him that day,” the elder admits shyly. “Instead, I told him he's being loud and that he should shut up more. I don't know why he puts up with me.”

“He likes you a lot,” Jongdae says truthfully. “Yixing ge always tell me how Luhan can't stop talking about you these days.”

“I know.”

“You should let him kiss you,” Jongdae surmises. “You’ve always told me how the first kiss can tell you everything.”

“But what about my dream of us being brothers in law?” Baekhyun asks after a long silence.

“Well, Luhan is practically Yixing's brother anyway,” Jongdae jokes, but the elder isn't laughing with him. “We're already brothers anyway, even if you don't end up mating with Minseok hyung.”

“I guess…”

They sit in silence as they keep eating their ice cream, and Baekhyun suddenly had a crazy idea.

“Or maybe I should just choose both. I mean, polygamy  _ is _ a thing now.”

“What makes you think Luhan hyung and Minseok hyung will agree to this? Plus, don't both alphas have to be attracted to each other too?”

“Well maybe their hatred towards each other is actually their attraction!”

“Sure,” Jongdae doubts.

“It'd make my life easier if they're also in love with each other.”

“Maybe you need to read less fanfic,” Jongdae tells him while sticking out his tongue.

“Would you judge me, though? If I do polygamy? Do you think it's too weird?”

“I've seen you in a dress. I don't think anything else can top that,” Jongdae tells him, rolling his eyes. “Since when have I ever judged you?”

“But is it a weird idea? Is it a stupid idea? I need your input here!” Baekhyun whines.

“No, I wouldn't find it weird. I think you should go for it if that's what make you happiest. I know both alphas can make you happy individually, so I can only imagine how happy you'd be if you had both.”

“So do you think they'd be up for it?”

“I think you should focus on telling hyung first,” Jongdae reminds him while rolling his eyes.

Baekhyun pouts at hearing that, but he knows it's true.

 

****************

 

***************

 

Jongdae hates this. It's a tradition amongst the Kim tribe that the omegas must wear a long tunic, whether it be a dress or simply a long shirt. He doesn't like the idea that he must look feminine and respectable, especially when his personality is neither of those things. However, his dad is strict about upholding these values.

Therefore, he's pouting as he tugs the tunic and he scowls as he watches how comfortable Baekhyun looks in his pretty green dress. Even Jongin is loving this look, even though the younger has toned arm muscles.

“Enough fidgeting,” Minseok scolds him. “This is not your first formal outing, Jongdae.”

The younger pouts even more, but he doesn't voice out his complaints. 

He follows Minseok as the waiter show them to their table. 

Once they're at the table, Minseok assigns a seat to each of them, knowing that their dad would be displeased if Yixing sat besides any of the unmated omegas. It's a well known tradition amongst traditional families that an alpha can only sit beside their mate, their sibling or a fellow alpha. It was done to prevent temptation at the time.

Although most have let go of this tradition, it's still being uphold in respectable families.

Jongdae doesn't seem to like it even more when he finds out that Yixing will be sitting further from him. He wants to protest and throw a childish tantrum, but he knows tonight is important for both of them. He can't mess it up just because he wants to hold the alpha's hand tonight.

So he bites his lower lip everytime he has the urge to complain, and grabs onto Baekhyun's hand for moral support.

It doesn't take long before his dad shows up, always on time.

Jongin is the first to stand up excitedly, like a true favorite child. He hugs him before anyone else could while telling him excitedly that he missed him.

Junmyeon and Jongdae follow behind, trying to get Jongin off their dad, and squeeze into the hug too.

“Ahh I'm still your favorite,” their dad grins, and Jongdae can't help but think it looks similar to Minseok's smile, all gummy and cheerful. “How are my pretty omegas? Is Minseok taking care of you well?”

“Dad, he  _ sucks _ at cooking. I want a chef,” Jongin immediately complaints and demands.

“Dad, how come Jongin gets 3 dog houses but I can't get a new laptop?” Baekhyun interrupts.

“Ask your  _ own _ dad!” Jongdae glares at his best friend. “Dad, you're going to be nice to Yixing ge right? You won't bully him or send Insung after him?” Jongdae pouts as he holds on tightly to one of his hands.

“I want a new laptop too,” Junmyeon declares.

Minseok can only sigh loudly at their words. Feeling betrayed that these kids can't behave normally for one minute.

“Wait! Let me solve one problem at a time,” their dad finally replies while chuckling. “No chefs Jongin, we talked about this.  _ All _ of you need to learn how to cook. How will you feed your families if you don't know how to cook a simple fried egg?”

“Find an alpha that can cook,” Jongin replies easily. 

“Like who?” 

“Yixing hyung!” Jongin smiles as he answers.

“Is that why you're with him, Jongdae?” Their dad turns to look at him with a serious expression.

“No!” Jongdae immediately denies, but suddenly feel shy once he realizes on what he'd answer. “He's really nice,” he ends up whispering to the floor, ignoring everyone's gazes.

“Anyway! My laptop?” Baekhyun interrupts with a grin.

“I'll ask your parents about it,” his fake dad replies and Baekhyun grins in victory. “And Jongdae, we'll see if you're right.”

“Let's sit and catch up first,” their dad tells them, and he finally notices Junmyeon's pout. “You can have a laptop too, sweetheart.” He laughs as Junmyeon hugs him for saying yes.

“Do you need anything, Minseok?” he also asks.

“No,” Minseok shakes his head before bowing in respect and sits on his chair.

“No, don't sit there. Switch places with Jongdae.”

Minseok looks up in surprise by that request.

“But they're not mated yet,” he questions his dad, and immediately regrets it once he sees the dark expression. “I'm sorry. I'll switch.”

Jongdae looks confused as Minseok heads to him and only stands once he realizes that he should move. He slowly walks to his new chair, wondering why his dad moved him.

“Yixing will be preoccupied, so let's start ordering.”

“What do you mean?” Jongdae asks with a worried expression. “What did you do? And where's Insung?”

“If he's a great alpha, you wouldn't need to worry,” his dad simply says. “Now, enough of that. I'm sure we're all hungry.”

 

 

*************

 

Despite what his dad said, Jongdae still worries. He can't get his mind off it as he looks through the menu. Nothing seems appetizing, despite his usual big appetite. He ends up thinking if he should just order dessert and skip dinner itself. At least cake will cheer his mood up.

Unfortunately, he can’t do that since his dad will undoubtedly scold him and he was already scolded for slouching in his seat.

Therefore, he pouts childishly as he waits for the waiter to come back, barely listening to Jongin's words as the younger talk about the dance club he wants to join.

“I can't wait to audition for it. Yixing hyung said they get to compete and we can make our choreography. It'll be so fun!”

“As long as you keep your grades up,” Dad smiles as he ruffles Jongin's hair. “Junmyeon, will you be joining a club too? It'd be a good experience for your last year.”

“Oh, I don't know. I might be too busy with business cases,” Junmyeon admits. 

“You should still have other activities beside school,” Dad reminds him. “It’s not healthy to just study, eat and sleep.”

“Well, he does go out often with friends often,” Baekhyun teases, sending the elder a smirk. 

“Yes, I did hear that from Minseok. You’re making  _ new _ alpha friends already,” Dad says with a frown. “I thought we talked about this, Junmyeon. Being friends is fine, but being  _ too _ friendly can bring up miscommunications.”

“I’m not!” Junmyeon denies with red cheeks. “Nothing happened. We just go out to coffee shops and talk. It’s not even a date. I mean, Baekhyun goes out on dates more often than me.”

Baekhyun squawks in his seat and Jongdae can’t help, but grin at the turn of event.

“I..I don’t go out on dates,” he stammers badly that Dad raises an eyebrow.

“Why don’t I know about this, Minseok?” Dad turns towards him with a glare.

“They’re not even  _ real _ dates. They’re pity dates,” Minseok scoffs, but their dad doesn’t look convinced.

“Are you alone with this alpha during these dates?”

“Yes,” Baekhyun replies softly, looking at his lap.

“Then you must like him if you don’t ask one of your brothers to join you.”

“I...I mean, he’s a nice alpha, so I just thought it’d be okay if we just hang out. It’s not a big deal,” Baekhyun says nervously.

“You said he was annoying, before,” Minseok says in disappointment.

Their dad shakes his head and sighs.

“Dad,” Jongin grabs his hand. “It’s okay. I still love you the most.”

He smiles comfortingly at him and their dad can’t help but smile back.

“I know, sweetheart,” Dad replies. “At least, you won’t grow up yet.”

He turns towards the other kids who need more guidance.

“I know that all of you are adults and you’ll find someone that you’ll love one day, but I worry the most since I’m not here to help you find that person,” Dad starts to say before turning to each of his sons. “Junmyeon, I only advise that you should show affections to the one you want, and you shouldn’t be too nice to alphas who you consider as friends. Baekhyun, you should be truthful about how you feel about this alpha. Don’t stray him on if you don’t see him as a potential mate. Most of all,  _ call _ your parents, so they know that you’re doing well.”

“Okay,” Junmyeon says softly and Baekhyun mimics his reply.

“Minseok, you already know I’m proud of you for protecting your brothers and Baekhyun well,” Dad tells him. “But it doesn’t mean that you should put your life on hold. If you  _ care _ about someone, then you should tell him how you feel.”

“D...Dad!” Minseok exclaims in surprise. “I...I don’t…”

“Please say your denial to social media,” Dad waves him off. “I’m not here to coddle you. Now, let’s order.”

He waves to the waiter, who immediately comes to him.

“If it’s not on the menu, the chef should know how to make it,” Dad tells them without looking at the bumbling waiter.

“Oh, um…” the waiter starts to deny.

“That wasn’t a request,” their dad tells the waiter with a glare before smiling back towards his sons.

 

***************

 

Jongdae is the first to notice Yixing’s presence, simply because he’s attuned to Yixing’s unique scent. It must be the anxiety or his nervous antics that made him stand up once Yixing walks closer to the table.

Or maybe it’s the fact that the elder is wearing a white dress shirt that fits him well and accentuate his arms’ muscles. Jongdae seems to be frozen in a trance as he stares at the elder.

“Jongdae, why are you standing?” Dad asks him with a raised eyebrow.

It’s not becoming for an omega to stand up for an alpha. If anything, the alpha should stand up for the omega.

“Oh, um,” Jongdae blushes hard before sitting back down, looking down to the table in shame.

“Mr. Kim,” Yixing greets him before bowing perfectly. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“Sit,” he gestures to the chair besides him.

As Yixing sits, he casts a furtive glance at Jongdae before looking straight at Jongin’s happy smile. 

“Hyung, you came just in time,” Jongin greets him with a grin. “We just ordered, so it won’t be long.”

“Okay,” Yixing smiles at him.

“Dad ordered the tasting menu for everyone. I hope you don’t mind. I think it has a bit of everything, so it’s okay if you don’t like some things.”

“Ah, okay,” he nods.

“You’re not allergic to anything, right? We had to tell them ‘no cucumbers’ for Baekhyun hyung, but we can tell them to omit other things if you don’t like something.”

“No, I’m not picky,” Yixing tells him. “But I hope not all the dishes are spicy,” he chuckles.

Jongdae frowns at that, and he nudges Yixing with his elbow, forgetting the fact that he’s supposed to behave like a docile omega. He notices his dad’s stare and almost withdraws if it’s not for Yixing’s hand.

Somehow, the elder’s hand has managed to find his hand, and Yixing holds it tightly, as if knowing that Jongdae might run away in anxiety. It soothes the younger’s feelings and he can’t help but send a tiny grateful smile towards Yixing.

“So, Yixing,” Mr. Kim, Mingyu, starts to say. “I heard you’re going into Law, like Minseok.”

“Yes.”

“You must like the long hours,” he comments. “Minseok barely has time to date during his semesters, and he still manages to find time to take care of his brothers. How do you plan on managing your time? Or do you just assume that Jongdae will wait for you?”

“I’ll admit I’m not the best at time management, but I wouldn’t give up so easily. He’s still my first priority and I’ll try my best to not make him wait too long.”

Jongdae blushes at that and he looks away to the floor.

“Anyone can say those words, but few actually act as promised.  _ So _ , what  _ is _ your plan for the next four months while he’s away at L.A.? You have the choice to date other omegas. You’re not obligated to him.”

“It doesn’t mean that I want to,” Yixing tells him with a frown. “I don’t view him as an object of entertainment. He’s my omega; I miss him even when he’s beside me. I plan to visit whenever I can, and whenever he allows me to.”

“What if I don’t want you to see him during those months?”

“I’d only listen if he tells me so,” he admits. “Otherwise, I hope I can change your mind Mr. Kim.”

Mingyu regards him for a moment, with an unreadable expression.

The moment gets interrupted as a few waiters come and bring their appetizers.

“Alright,” Mingyu simply says before gesturing everyone to try the food.

Jongdae looks at Yixing in confusion, not knowing on what is his dad’s final decision. Yixing squeezes his hand one last time before letting go, allowing the younger to eat with his right hand. Unfortunately, Jongdae misses the warmth and he hopes that he can hold the elder’s hand again.

 

*************

 

If there was one thing Mingyu was naturally good at, it was knowing who to trust at first glance. That's why Insung has been his right man since before he was mated, and that's why he was able to continue the legacy that his grandfather had made with this company. He doesn't know yet if any of his sons have his talent.

Therefore, when he first heard that his third son, the second omega of his family, was being courted by an alpha, he became wary. He didn't want to witness Jongdae's first heartbreak.

If Jongin is considered to be his favorite, Jongdae is considered to be his gem. There's an insurmountable amount of proud that runs in his veins whenever he thinks about Jongdae's achievements. This is why he's going to be harsh to the alpha who thinks that he can steal Jongdae's heart.

At first glance, Yixing looks like any ordinary alpha that walks in the street. Easy on the eyes, charming and popular amongst omegas. He's biased enough to think that this alpha is just waiting for Jongdae's heat, and he'd leave Jongdae once he's done. He's waiting for the signs, for Yixing to make a lecherous joke, or to make a grave mistake.

He hires some actors to show up at the restaurant. Ones that are attractive with plump asses and pretty eyes. He knows how easy it is for an alpha to get distracted. He's sure that Yixing will look and forget that he's here with Jongdae.

Though, despite all his efforts, Yixing seems more focus on interacting with his sons than paying attention to the strangers that pass by.

He watches how Yixing picks up a napkin cloth to wipe Jongdae's lips, or how the alpha pays attention to Jongdae's dislike of mushrooms. Yixing spends a few minutes filtering out the mushrooms in Jongdae's plate meticulously and he doesn't complain while doing it. Mingyu wonders if the alpha is even more attentive when they're on dates.

He starts to wonder if he's too harsh on the alpha. After all, he hasn't seen any red flags and even Insung mentions that Yixing doesn't seem to have ulterior motives.

He keeps his thoughts to himself, not allowing to form a decision just yet.

It's not until later on, when they're about to receive dessert. Yixing goes to the bathroom and he's stopped by someone on his way back. He doesn't know who that person is, but Jongdae looks worried and he tries to school his expression when Yixing returns.

Mingyu intends on confronting Yixing, but he doesn't get a chance to do so. 

He watches as Yixing grabs Jongdae's hand, kissing the knuckles lightly and gives him a smile.

“What?” Jongdae asks, feeling embarrassed by the sudden affection.

The alpha leans closer and kisses his cheek, whispering something quickly.

“Mine,” he whispers almost teasingly, and Jongdae would usually hit him for being a tease. Instead, the younger blushes and smiles shyly at the alpha.

Mingyu doesn't understand why it makes Jongdae smile, but he thinks it must be a special code between them, because Jongdae is no longer upset about it.

He realizes at that moment that Yixing always know on how to reassure Jongdae, even to the smallest things. And maybe that's why he's no longer worried about Yixing's intention. 

He thinks that Jongdae made a good choice and he hopes that his instinct is right again

 

*****************

 

**************

**A few weeks ago**

 

 

  


 

***************

**back to present**

 

****

****

****

****

*****************

 

(Yixing and Luhan didn't tell the other F4 that Jongdae's brothers and Baekhyun will be coming too)

 

**********************

 

“Hey, come in,” Yixing greets them with a smile and almost loses his balance when Jongdae tackles him with a hug.

He side steps while holding Jongdae, letting the others go in.

Minseok rolls his eyes at the couple, but doesn’t make a comment since he’s too preoccupied with finding the television. There’s another match in UEFA and Luhan promised a cinematic experience. As he walks, he sees Toben running towards him and passes between his feet.

“Toben!!!” Jongin yells the dog’s name without caring how everyone winces beside him. He bends down and pick up the dog, laughing happily at the small licks.

Baekhyun rolls his eyes before leaving them, deciding he needs a cold drink.

“Um, is Yifan hyung around?” Junmyeon asks Yixing, who still hasn’t let go of Jongdae.

“Yep, he should be in the living room with the others.”

“Oh, okay,” Junmyeon replies meekly, as if he’s nervous about meeting everyone. 

“Let’s go together,” Jongdae tells him as he slowly lets go of Yixing.

He grabs Junmyeon’s hand and leads him to the living room.

“Come on Nini,” Yixing tells the younger. “You can bring Toben. I’m sure you want to meet Vivi.”

“Who’s Vivi?” Jongin asks curiously.

“Sehunnie’s dog.”

“He has a dog too?” Jongin asks in amazement, as if people owning dogs is a rare occurrence.

“Did you think that it’s rare to own dogs?” Yixing asks with a chuckle.

“No,” Nini pouts. “But I like the fact that he’s a dog owner.”

Yixing ruffles his hair before showing Jongin the living room. As they arrive, it seems like everyone is already there.

“Jongin!” Chanyeol exclaims in surprise, standing up too quickly, causing his knee to bump into the table. Sehun snickers beside him.

“Hello,” Nini bows shyly while still holding Toben. Then he notices a small white poodle that walks up to him, and stares at him curiously. “Oh, you must be Vivi.”

He rubs Vivi’s head and the dog leans into it, walking closer to Jongin’s touch. Nini sits down, allowing both dogs to crowd into his lap.

“He likes you,” Sehun says in surprise. “He doesn’t really like strangers, usually.”

“Jongin is a bit of a dog whisperer,” Jongdae teases. “This is why we have 3 dogs at home. It’s already  _ too _ handful.”

“But they behave well,” Nini pouts at his hyung before turning back to scratch Toben’s chin. “You’re both so  _ cute _ . Where do you get your cuteness from?”

“Vivi got it from me, of course,” Sehun scoffs. “And Toben isn’t that cute, to be honest. I mean, look at his owner, all gangly and lanky. Not a great picture.”

“I don’t know, he’s pretty cute to me,” Jongin tells him with a giggle. “I mean Toben!”

He blushes as he realizes his words. Sehun merely smirks at him, feeling pleased to make this stranger fluster.

“I’m Sehun, by the way. You must be the youngest brother? Jongin?”

“Yeah,” Jongin grins at him. “But you can call me Nini.”

“Sounds a bit childish to call you Nini,” Sehun remarks.

“I like it,” Jongin shrugs. “Most of my friends call me that, and so does my family.”

“So, I’m already your friend?” Sehun asks in surprise.

“If you want to be,” Jongin mumbles shyly. “I’m not really good at this. I prefer dogs than people.”

“Jongin,” Jongdae groans exasperatedly.

“I prefer dogs than people too,” Sehun admits. “At least, they don’t judge you when you make a mistake.”

“Right?!” Jongin smiles at him.

As Jongdae shakes his head in annoyance, he’s at least glad that Jongin has made a friend who’s possibly as weird as him. Now, if only he can succeed in helping Junmyeon.

“Ge, where’s Yifan hyung?” Jongdae asks his boyfriend, tugging his hand.

“Oh, he must be fixing stuff,” Yixing explains to them in a remorseful tone. “We actually didn’t tell him and Chanyeol that you guys are coming too.”

“What?” Jongdae asks in surprise. “Why?”

“I just wanted to surprise them,” Yixing smiles innocently, and Jongdae glares at him for being impish.

“Does that mean he won’t like it that I’m here?” Junmyeon asks quietly.

“Of course not!” Jongdae, Yixing and Chanyeol reply at the same time. Jongin and Sehun look up in surprise.

“He’s been looking forward to seeing you,” Yixing reassures him.

“Yeah, he’s been so moody lately because of you,” Chanyeol admits.

“Moody? Why?” Junmyeon asks curiously.

“Because you made so many new friends,” Yixing tells him while nodding. “He thought you’d forget about him.”

“See, hyung,” Jongdae starts to say. “Nothing to worry about. If anything, he missed you.”

“Oh,” Junmyeon blushes and looks down to the floor.

Sehun stares in amusement, feeling like he missed a lot in the past few weeks.

“Let me go get him,” Yixing tells them. “But, before I forget, this is Sehunnie,” he gestures to Sehun. “He’s Chanyeol’s childhood friend. I’ll let you guys get reacquainted.”

 

*************

 

“Wow, you guys must have known each other for years,” Jongdae comments.

“Yeah,” Chanyeol smiles.

“It’s like Taemin with Jongin,” Junmyeon comments. “You must fight a lot, then?”

“He annoys me,” Sehun admits, causing Chanyeol to roll his eyes. “He doesn’t know when to stop bothering me.”

“It’s the same with me and Taemin!” Jongin remarks. “I swear, he only message me when he wants to piss me off.”

“He does that too!” Sehun agrees, nodding. “One time, he even came by to my apartment, just because the other F4 were busy. As if I have no other plans.”

“You said you were free!” Chanyeol complaints.

“He even posts childhood pictures of me and him in his SNS,” Sehun pouts. “He knows I hate that.”

“Taemin does that too!” Jongin exclaims. “I swear alpha as a best friend is the  _ worst. _ ”

“Yes, yes they are.”

“I’m not that bad,” Chanyeol pouts.

“Oh! I should show you this childhood photo I have of him when he was chubby…”

“I was  _ not _ chubby!!!” Chanyeol denies. “My baby fat wasn’t gone, that’s all!”

“He looked so funny,” Sehun starts to giggle, and somehow Jongin joins his laugh. “I swear, he looked like a dork.”

“Sehun!!” Chanyeol whines and tries to make him stop talking.

“I’ll show you the pictures later,” Sehun tells him in between laughter.

 

****************

“What’s with the hurry?” Yifan asks in annoyance. “I thought we’re eating later.”

“Yeah, but you haven’t greet the guests yet,” Yixing smiles at him, which makes Yifan feel suspicious. “Jongdae is leaving in two days, and you’re not being very nice, you know.”

“It’s not like I’m allowed to miss him,” Yifan says slowly, trying to understand why Yixing is telling him to  _ be  _ more considerate.

“And what about Sehunnie? Don’t you miss him?”

Yifan sighs but agrees anyway. He should at least greet Sehun since the younger has been gone for months.

As they walk closer to the living room, they begin to hear more noises, mostly Sehun being talkative, but then they hear Jongin talking also.

“Did you invite more people?” Yifan asks cautiously, and Yixing shrugs, as if the answer is indifferent to him.

“And then, when I found my phone, he lost his,” Jongin giggles, recounting the tale of how Taemin has a bad memory. Sehun seems to find it funny since he laughs also.

“Look who’s finally here,” Yixing tells them. “I had to practically drag him here.”

“Funny,” Yifan says dryly. “Hello everyone.”

“Hello hyung,” Jongdae greets him first, cheerily.

“You look like a mess,” Sehun says as he looks at him up and down. “Did you even shower?”

“Come here,” Yifan glares at him, walking towards him, beckoning him to come closer. 

Sehun scrambles to get away, trying to hide behind Chanyeol. Unfortunately, Chanyeol isn’t feeling emphatic, especially since Sehun spilled so many stories today, so he moves away from the younger.

Somehow, Yifan manages to catch him and flicks his finger into Sehun’s forehead. It’s a common punishment they’d unleash unto Sehun.

“Ow,” the younger pouts, but only Jongin is giving him a sympathetic look.

Junmyeon doesn’t seem happy as he watches on, frowning that Yifan seems close to that omega. He thinks about how he doesn’t know Yifan well enough. Why did he bother baking something for the alpha? He ends up shrinking himself next to Jongdae.

“Yifan hyung,” Jongdae calls him out, hoping that the taller would notice Junmyeon now.

Jongdae watches as Yifan looks up, and the surprised expression on the taller makes him giggle a little.

“Junmyeon,” he mutters almost in disbelief. “You’re here.”

“Yixing ge told me how he didn’t tell you about us coming,” Jongdae starts to say. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not,” Yifan immediately says as he tries to fix his clothes from chasing Sehun, and withholds the blush that keeps rising to his cheeks. “It’s good to see you again….I mean, everyone.”

“Hi,” Junmyeon mumbles, looking away shyly.

“Junmyeon hyung was actually excited to come here…”

“Jongdae!” Junmyeon hits him with a pout.

“He even made something for you,” he teases.

“Made what?” Sehun asks curiously.

“He makes the  _ best _ brownies,” Jongin gloats. “He stayed up last night to make some so he could bring it here. You gotta try it!”

“Well, they’re actually for Yifan,” Jongdae corrects him. “It’s up to him if he wants to share them or not.”

“It’s just too bad that Yifan likes salty things,” Yixing comments. “We were talking about this before actually, right Chanyeol? How Yifan doesn’t have a sweet tooth?”

“Yeah,” Chanyeol plays along. “He probably eats popcorn or something.”

“Oh…” Junmyeon says disappointedly.

“No!” Yifan denies. “I mean, I don’t know what they’re talking about. They don’t know anything. Ignore them.” He says it so quickly that Junmyeon wonders if the elder is alright. 

“I’d love to try your brownies,” he says in the end.

Jongdae nudges Junmyeon, as if giving him his cue to show it.

“It’s probably not that good,” Junmyeon mumbles. “You don’t have to finish one.”

They watch as Junmyeon brings the cake container, which was hidden in the shelves, to their viewing. They can barely see the square shaped brownies, but they know there’s something inside.

As Junmyeon slowly opens the container, Jongdae watches carefully on how Yifan reacts. These next few seconds are crucial, especially since he knows that his hyung really  _ like _ this bumbling giant.

“Wow,” Sehun is the first to comment. “Are you sure this wasn’t store bought?”

Chanyeol smacks his head for being rude, causing the younger to whine in pain.

“Don’t they look amazing?” Jongin asks.

Jongdae watches as Yifan opens his mouth, waiting to see on what he’d say. There’s a few seconds where the taller seems speechless, until finally, he clears his throat nervously.

“Yeah, they look great.”

“Try one, then,” Yixing baits him. “Unless, you were lying about having a sweet tooth.”

Yifan glares at him, but he turns towards Junmyeon, who seems to be looking at him expectantly.

“Sure,” he picks one of them and takes a careful bite. “It’s good. I like it.”

“Really?” Junmyeon asks with such a hopeful tone.

“Yeah, you’re a great baker,” Yifan smiles at him and it’s taking all of Junmyeon’s strength to not have weak knees.

Their moment gets interrupted as they notice Jongin trying to steal one of the brownies.

“I’m hungry,” the younger pouts as he halts his attempt on stealing.

“Come on,” Yixing chuckles at the ridiculous comment. “We can go eat.”

“I think Minseok hyung is still with Luhan hyung. Should we tell them to join us?” Jongdae asks as he runs to grab Yixing’s hand, holding it tightly.

“Nah, let them watch. I’m sure they’ll go to the kitchen once they’re hungry.”

The others follow Yixing to the kitchen, leaving Junmyeon and Yifan alone.

“It wasn’t too sweet or too sour right?” Junmyeon asks again. “I don’t know how sweet you like your desert.”

“I think it’s perfect,” Yifan admits before realizing how cheesy he sounds. “I mean, it was really good. It has a nice balance.”

“Okay,” Junmyeon replies softly, looking down as he closes the container again.

“You must really love baking,” Yifan comments. “I don’t think I could bake and make it look as yummy as yours.”

“It helps me destress sometimes,” Junmyeon admits. “I guess it’s like you with fixing things. It calms you, I guess.”

“Yeah…”

There’s a long stretch of silence as Junmyeon puts away the container back to the shelf area, and Yifan stares like a creepy person. 

“We should go to the kitchen,” Junmyeon mutters as he gestures to the door.

Before he can leave, Yifan grabs his wrist, feeling anxious that their moment is so short.

“Wait,” the taller tells him. “I just…”

The younger looks up, wondering if everything is alright.

“Thank you,” the taller ends up saying. “I didn’t say that before.”

“Oh, it’s alright,” the younger blushes.

“And...um…”

Yifan can’t read Junmyeon’s expression yet, but he sees the confusion in his eyes. He hates how he can’t act normal around the younger.

“I’m just wondering if…”

Junmyeon is still waiting, hopelessly. He wonders if Yifan will say something surprising, maybe that the elder likes him too! But that seems so imaginative, and he scolds himself for hoping for that. He shouldn’t get his hope up for nothing.

“Do you want to see my lab?”

Junmyeon stares at him in shock, not expecting to hear that question.

“It’s where I fix stuff and sometimes I brainstorm about the next robot we could make,” the taller explains. “I mean, only if you want to. I just thought since you showed me how you love baking, I could show you how I love to fix things.”

“Oh.”

“That sounds stupid I guess,” Yifan mutters, looking away while combing his hair back.

“No!” Junmyeon denies, shaking his head. “That sounds nice. I’ve never seen you fix things before.”

“Cool,” Yifan smiles at him and Junmyeon can’t help but smile back. “After dinner then.”

The taller lets Junmyeon walk ahead first and he sighs internally in relief. For once, he’s not messing up his chance.

 

****************

**Jongdae's departure**

 

***********

 

If there's one thing Baekhyun knows about Minseok, it's that the elder is actually a softie despite his strict tendencies. He knows that if Minseok was born as an omega, the elder would probably be as emo as Jongin, and that's saying a lot. Therefore, he's not surprised to see Minseok being sombre in the living room, with a glass of vodka in his hand and bottles of alcohol in the table.

It's a coping mechanism for the elder. To forget his sadness.

Baekhyun's heart aches at seeing him so unhappy after Jongdae's departure. He should have known that Minseok would take it the hardest out of all of them.

He knows that Minseok isn't worried about Jongdae's safety. After all, the younger is staying with his cousin and mate. However, Minseok is sad to see Jongdae leave. They were getting used to being four brothers, and now they're back to three again.

As he hears the fourth deep sigh from Minseok, Baekhyun immediately walks up to him, causing the elder to look up in surprise.

“Baekhyunnie?” Minseok calls his name in surprise. “Why are you up?”

“I miss him,” Baekhyun pouts. “I want a hug and a cuddle.”

Minseok chuckles lightly before patting the couch.

Baekhyun easily cuddle to his side and burrows into the warmth.

“I never thought I'd be saying goodbye to him so soon,” Minseok whispers. “I thought we'd be together longer.”

“I know,” Baekhyun agrees somberly, wrapping his arms around Minseok. “I wish he didn't have to go.”

“We'd be selfish to make him stay,” Minseok says with a sad smile.

“Yeah...he'd want us to keep going without him,” Baekhyun reminds him. “I'm sure he'd be mad if he knew that we're sad drinking tonight.”

Minseok chuckles at that before kissing Baekhyun's forehead.

“I'm so glad you're still here, Baekhyunnie,” the elder admits with a sigh. “I don't know what I'd do if you left too.”

“I'm sure you'd find a way, hyung,” Baekhyun smiles at him. “You're so strong.”

“Sometimes, not all the time,” Minseok corrects him. “I'd probably cry if you left. I cried last time.”

Baekhyun scoffs, not believing that at all.

“I did cry,” Minseok argues, looking down at Baekhyun's face. “Ask Jongin, or Junmyeon. They had to tell me to stop.” 

“You're being silly,” Baekhyun rolls his eyes, still not believing it. He smiles as he stares up at his hyung.

“Why won't you believe me?” The elder pouts and leans forward for effect.

“It sounds silly,” the younger says with a teasing tone.

Neither realize that their faces are only a few centimeters apart.

“When are you going to take me seriously?” Minseok asks with an exasperated sigh. He doesn't notice that Baekhyun is staring at his lips, watching it open and close. He doesn't even notice how the younger's eyes follow his tongue as it licks his lips.

He only notices that the younger is sporting an unreadable expression and he wonders if everything is okay.

“Baekhyun?” He asks softly. “Are you okay?”

“Huh?” The younger replies in a daze. “Yeah, sorry.”

Baekhyun licks his lips in anxiousness and he doesn't notice that Minseok is staring at him now.

Suddenly, he remembers how his dad told him to be true to his feelings. He thinks about how this moment won't come anytime soon, so he should probably say something before Baekhyun goes to bed.

“I should go to my room now,” the younger says as he sits up and ignores Minseok's gaze. “I hope you're feeling better hyung.”

“Wait,” Minseok stops him before he can stand.

He watches as the younger faces him, possibly wondering on what's going on.

“Remember when we were little kids, and you and Jongdae used to play house,” he starts to say. “You used to ask me to join you, i could be the alpha.”

“Hyung,” Baekhyun whines. “That was ages ago. Why are you bringing up something so embarrassing?”

“Because it's important to me,” Minseok says seriously. “You were so cute back then. Asking me to bring back food and making me do the dishes.” He smiles at the memory. “But there was one other thing you'd  _ always _ ask me to do. You always asked it everytime I come home from work.”

Baekhyun blushes hard as he remembers what it was. He was a shameless kid back then, not knowing what kind of questions he should ask. And one thing that he'd always ask toward Minseok is a kiss, specifically a kiss on his cheek.

“I know it's been years, but I miss kissing your cheek,” the elder admits without shame. “Can I kiss you goodnight?”

Baekhyun widens his eyes at the request and he wonders if he's truly dreaming.

“Is it a bad idea?” The elder starts to sound anxious. “You don't have to say yes.”

“No!” Baekhyun denies before he realizes he should explain. “I mean, it's not a bad idea. I missed it too,” the younger looks down embarrassed.

Minseok smiles at him warmly and leans closer. He watches as Baekhyun closes his eyes and he grins before kissing his cheek softly. 

“Good night,” he whispers to Baekhyun, not realizing the internal damage he did to Baekhyun.

The younger simply nods his head before running away, possibly too overwhelmed by the emotions in his heart.

_ Baekhyunnie…  _  Minseok thinks achingly as he stares at the younger's retreating form, and he sighs deeply for being too in love with him.

 

**********

 


	7. September 2018 part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> September 2018 part 1.
> 
> As usual, check previous chapter for updates so you're caught up. I have more images/texts to add, but I'll take a break and add them later!

************

 

**First Day of classes**

 

**************

 

Jongin stares at the building with wide eyes. There are students going in and out, and he's the only one standing frozen in the middle of the pathway.

He knew he'd be nervous, but he didn't realize how _bad_ his anxiety is.

“Nini,” a gentle hand touches his shoulder, forcing him to look up at the owner.

Insung hyung stands beside him with a warming smile. He's been tasked to follow Nini for the first few weeks of the semester, making sure the younger will adjust well. It's not common to see a personal bodyguard following an omega, but the school permits it for rich families.

“Hyung,” the younger whimpers as he grabs onto the elder's arm. “I don't know where to go. Can you lead me?”

“You're supposed to do this alone, remember?” He reminds gently.

“But it's my first day,” the younger pouts. “Why do you want my first day to be awful?”

Insung sighs loudly before allowing Jongin to hold on to his arm as they walk to the building.

“Aren’t you worried that they might tease you?” He asks as they walk. “No one else is holding onto their bodyguard, let alone being babied.”

“That's because they're not new,” Jongin reasons. “I'm sure if they were new, they'd be scared too.”

“What about Jongdae? He didn't need me to be here.”

“He had Baekhyun hyung with him!”

“And Junmyeon? He's all alone in the business building without a bodyguard on his first day.”

“He has his alpha friends! They all have someone to depend on,” the younger argues.

“I don't know if you'll ever find an alpha that'll tolerate your clinginess,” Insung teases.

“Then maybe I shouldn't get mated,” Jongin reasons.

“And adopt kids?”

“Yeah!” Jongin grins at that plan. “You always told me how being mated is a hard life.”

“Sometimes,” Insung admits. “But being alone will be more hard, especially when you're a clingy omega!”

Jongin sticks his tongue out before realizing they're near his classroom.

“Have a good day. I'll wait outside,” Insung tells him as he slowly pulls Jongin's hand away.

“Okay, but don't stray too far. I'll be checking from inside,” the younger pouts before waving goodbye.

Insung sighs heavily as he wonders if Jongin will ever grow up.

 

************

 

“And for your final project, you'll choose a partner to do it with,” the teacher explains. “It counts as 30% of your grade, so make sure you do it well.”

Jongin pouts as he hears that. He hates having to work with new people, especially when he's not used to NYC yet. He looks around the classroom out of curiosity, and he recognizes a familiar face. He's almost giddy at the thought of asking that person as his partner.

He impatiently taps the sole of his shoe to the floor as he waits for the class to end. As soon as the teacher dismisses them, Jongin cleans up his desk and puts his things away. He looks behind to check if the person is still there, and he is.

Unfortunately, there is another person standing near his future partner, and Jongin is anxious at the thought that he might have already found a partner.

Luckily, it seems like he got turned down so Jongin immediately calls him out.

“Wait!”

Sehun looks back to see Jongin smiling at him.

“Do you have a partner yet?” He asks rather nervously, biting his lower lip.

“No…” Sehun replies cautiously. “But I'm not a good partner. You should find someone who cares about their grades. I'm just here to do the bare minimum.”

“That's okay! I don't mind doing it all,” Jongin reassures him. “I just don't want to be partnered with someone I don't know of.”

Sehun stares at him with suspicious eyes.

“Just because I'm friends with Chanyeol, it doesn't mean you can use me to get to him. Or to _any_ of the F4,” Sehun crosses his arms. “So don't even bother asking me to set you up.”

Jongin gapes at him in surprise. He doesn't  expect the younger to say that.

“Um, I don't like him...I think?” Jongin ends up saying in confusion. “Who's F4 again? It sounds familiar…”

Sehun stares at him disbelief. He wonders if Jongin is just dumb or clueless. Either way, should he trust this guy with his project?

“But it's okay if you don't want to be partners with me. I just thought it'd be nice,” he mumbles before heading out.

“Wait!” Sehun calls him. “Do you really not know what F4 is?”

“Um….,” Jongin bites his bottom lip. “Does it have to do with racing?”

Sehun shakes his head and Jongin feels discouraged by it.

“Sorry... I'm not good with remembering stuff.”

“It's alright,” Sehun relents. “How did you even get into NYU with that short memory?”

“Lots of tutors,” Jongin admits. “And my dad probably paid the school or something.”

“Really? Mine probably did the same thing.”

“Does this mean you're okay with us being partners?”

“I guess…” the younger trails off. “But I expect a good mark, so you better study well.”

“I will,” Jongin smiles at him before finally seeing Insung nearby.

“Hyung! Meet my new friend!” Jongin tells him with a wide grin, while pointing at Sehun.

“I didn't agree to being friends,” Sehun jokes.

“Oh...I mean he's my…”

“I'm kidding,” Sehun interrupts him. “Wow, you're easy.”

“Easy?” Jongin wonders in confusion.

“You know, gullible…”

“Oh! Yeah...my best friend says that too,” he pouts.

“It's nice to meet you,” Insung interrupts them. “I'm his bodyguard.”

“Really?” Sehun asks in surprise. “You're okay with him around? I told mine to do my errands for the day.”

“Yeah,” Jongin admits. “Why? Is it a bad thing?”

“It's just that the other students might look down on you.”

“Oh.”

“See Jongin. How about I stay back and you can hang out with Sehun?” Insung suggests.

“But I'm supposed to meet with Yixing hyung for lunch and I don't know where,” Jongin pouts, not letting him go.

“You're meeting him for lunch?”

“Yeah... he's bringing leftover!” He says excitedly. “Hyung said he made teriyaki beef last night, and I ended up dreaming about it. I can't wait to taste it.”

“He's willing to bring you food, but not me?” Sehun asks, pouting this time.

“Oh...we can share!”

“But it won't be enough…”

“Oh,” Jongin says sadly.

“Or I can buy teriyaki beef so you guys have enough,” Insung suggests.

“But Yixing hyung teriyaki beef is the best! You can't replace it with _restaurant_ food.”

“Yeah, hyung,” Jongin agrees. “How could you suggest such a thing?”

“ _Sorry_ , I didn't realize how special it was,” Insung replies with a touch of sarcasm. “Just share it today and we can get other food. You can ask him to bring more tomorrow.”

“Oh! We should blame him for not bringing more!” Sehun decides, completely bypassing the logical suggestion that Insung made.

“You're right! Let's go find him,” Jongin agrees. “He said we should meet in Williams building. Where's that?”

“Should we try there?” Sehun asks as he points to a direction.

“I guess…”

“Or we can go back to the main entrance,” Insung suggests, after noticing how lost these two are.

“Isn't that the same direction?” Sehun asks with a confused expression, and Jongin wonders the same too.

Insung can only sigh before telling them to follow him.

It's a good thing he'll be around to whip these two idiots into capable adults.

 

****************

 

Jongin runs excitedly once he finally sees Yixing sitting nearby. He almost trips on his foot before managing to regain his balance, and flopping down in front of the elder.

“Hyung!” He greets him with a wide smile.

“Hi Nini,” Yixing smiles at him before recognizing the person behind Jongin. “Oh! Sehunnie! You're here too!”

“How come he gets a packed lunch and I don't?” Sehun immediately complains. “I used to be your favorite omega.”

“Aww,” Yixing ruffles his hair. “Now you're third,” he says savagely.

“Whyyyy?” he whines childishly.

“Because Jongdae is first and Jongin is second,” he tells him as a fact.

“How come he gets second? I've known you longer.”

“Because Nini is too sweet and gullible. I'm worried for his safety. Meanwhile, you already know your way around this city, and which kind of alphas to avoid.”

“But I still want to be doted on.”

“You have Chanyeol and Kris for that…”

“They don't bring me packed lunch,” he pouts.

“You're the one who told them to ignore your presence, especially when you meet them in hallways.”

“I was kidding!’ Sehun grabs Yixing's arm while pouting. “I want your food too.”

“You can have my portion and I'll get something else,” Yixing tells him, rolling his eyes in amusement. “Should I pack you lunch from now on?”

“Yes please,” Sehun flutters his eyes before grabbing the purple lunch box he sees. “By the way, that shirt is tacky. Did Jongdae hyung asked you to do that?”

“Yeah, hyung,” Jongin giggles. “Why are you wearing that?’

“I like it,” he shrugs. “I miss him and being able to do this makes me happy.”

“You're so whipped,” Sehun tells him with a full mouth.

“Swallow before you talk!” Yixing scolds him. “I'm going to buy Subway I think.”

“Oh, you don't have to. Insung hyung went to buy extra food,” Jongin tells him. “He'll be back soon.”

“Oh, okay.”

Yixing smiles happily as he watches the two omegas eat with happy sounds.

 

**********

 

“Hi Kris,” Stacy greets him as she flutters her eyelashes. “How was your summer?”

“It was fine,” he replies without looking up at her. He's been dooling questionable art on his paper for the past 10 minutes, and ignoring most of the people that passes by his desk. He's waiting for class to start.

“I heard that you guys are doing the numbers tradition again,” she says as she twirls her hair. “So...here.”

She slides a piece of paper with her number while trying to look seductive.

“Call me,” she whispers before winking and taking a seat, not too far away.

Kris simply takes the paper and stuff it into the front of his bag. He's been putting it there ever since morning time.

As he focuses on his drawing, he hears a familiar voice in the hallway.

“Oh, here it is...Thanks Minho,” Junmyeon smiles at the alpha. “I should go in now.”

“No problem,” Minho tells him. “I'll be in the couch area when you're done.”

“Oh, you don't have to wait for me. I probably have to meet Jongin after this.”

“Then let me treat him out too. It's the first day for both of you.”

“But I also have to meet Baekhyun…”

“Bring him too! The more the merrier.”

“Oh, um okay I guess,” Junmyeon finally relents.

“Anyway, have fun in class!”

Minho waves goodbye and Junmyeon nods before walking in. He looks down in embarrassment as he notices how his classmates are staring at him.

He manages to find a seat close by to the front and settles down.

Yifan stares at his back, feeling half annoyed at Minho and half happy that Junmyeon is in his elective class.

 

**********

 

Yifan _hates_ this class already. He can't believe his luck as the teacher tells them that their future partner will be the person on their right side. This means that some lucky bastard is going to be Junmyeon's partner, while he's stuck with some beta named Kyle.

He huffs as he watches Junmyeon's partner, Adam, make the younger laugh. The jealousy in his vein keeps thrumming and he knows he should dial down his emotions before someone notices the strong scent of acid.

“What do you think?” Kyle asks him, and Yifan was honestly not paying attention to the beta's words. He does feel guilty though for being an ass to someone who's just a bystander.

“Uh sorry, I'm just having a hard time concentrating. Didn't sleep well last night,” Yifan lamely explains. “Is it okay if we continue in texts? Or meet up later?”

“Oh sure. I can write my number,” Kyle tells him.

“Just put it on my phone and I'll call you.”

Meanwhile, Junmyeon is also exchanging numbers with Adam, who's surprisingly an omega.

“I'm so glad to meet another omega,” Junmyeon admits. “Not that it's rare...but I keep having alphas hover me sometimes.”

“Wow, you must be really popular.”

“Not really,” Junmyeon blushes.

“Well, I put my number into your phone,” Adam says. “Cute case by the way.”

“Oh thanks,” Junmyeon smiles as he looks at the case. “A friend got it for me for souvenir.”

“You guys must be close then,” Adam notes. “I don't even buy things for my friends.”

“Oh,” Junmyeon suddenly feels shy as he thinks about Yifan. “We're not that close, but I don't know...he just thought I'd like it.”

“He must like you then” Adam teases.

“No!” Junmyeon denies a little too anxiously. “I mean, he's just nice. I don't think he'd like me. I mean, he can date any omega he wants.”

“So it _is_ an alpha!”

Junmyeon nods quickly as he blushes.

“I think you're wrong. I think you're quite a catch. So don't think that way.”

Junmyeon smiles at his new friend, feeling happy that Adam is such a supportive friend.

 

*************

**End of first day**

 

**********

 

*********

 

Baekhyun huffs as he sits down on an empty chair in the acapella practice room. He's been annoyed lately that Jongdae is having the time of his life, while he's been miserable without his best friend. Why can't Jongdae be miserable with him??!!

His thoughts doesn't last long as someone smacks him hard in the back of his head.

“Ahhh!!” He screams in pain.

“Take that tweet off your page or I'll hit you again,” Kyungsoo threatens with a glare.

“But Kyungieee…”

“That's not my name.”

“But I _need_ it there to make my ex best friend jealous. He _ditched_ me and now he's having fun without me. What kind of friend would do that?” Baekhyun huffs in anger.

“A _normal_ friend?” Wendy tells him in amusement from behind.

“Oh _shut up_ ,” Baekhyun glares at her.

“Well, I don't care Byun. Either take my photo off or be prepared for the consequences.”

“Sure, you can beat me,” Baekhyun pouts. “It's better than being betrayed by your best friend.”

“So dramatic,” Frank says under his breath, but Baekhyun still manages to hear it. He glares at him too.

“Take your seat!” Kyuhyun orders them as he walks to the front. “We have a lot of things to go through today.”

Baekhyun exhales loudly before faces the front with a pout.

“Alright, so we have auditions from tonight until Friday. If anyone want to come, feel free to join us at auditorium H. We're also going to prepare for our fall showcase today and we'll talk briefly about competing in the State Showcase. As usual, we need to chose our songs now,” Kyuhyun explains. “Now, a few of us are in our last year, and we want to do well this year. So we won't tolerate any slacking from you!”

He glares at two specific members in the back at that comment.

“Anyway, what do we need this year? I need to know if any of you, or the members who didn't show up, are unable to join for this year competition.”

“I heard Anne can't do it this year,” her friend, Lily, tells them.

“Tyler is gone for internship this semester, but he'll be back next semester. Wasn't there someone who's also gone for internship?”

“Jongdae,” Wendy helpfully tells them.

“Ah, really? He's not here for Fall?” Kyuhyun asks for confirmation. “That sucks. I was going to ask him to be a solo for one of the pieces.”

“Who cares about that jerk?! I can do his solo with _no_ problem!” Baekhyun interrupts him, feeling half offended and half wanting to just show off.

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes at the dumb comment.

“Just give me his solo,” Baekhyun beckons with his hand. “We don't need him.”

“What's wrong with him?” Someone whispers in the back.

“Lover's quarrel, I think?”

“Alright, then,” Kyuhyun shrugs. “You can try it and we'll see if you've got it.”

Baekhyun smirks in victory for the next five seconds, before realizing something crucial.

_Why the hell did I say that? Now I gotta work my ass off or Kyuhyun will assign me to harmonization for the rest of my three years!!_

It seems only Kyungsoo understand his dilemma as the younger mouths _idiot_ at him before looking away.

 

********

 

Jongdae learned at a very young age that his cousin, Heechul, does not understand the concept of personal belongings. Therefore, he's always wary of leaving his phone unattended, even though the elder wouldn't know his pass code. It's just the idea of Heechul holding it, and trying to guess his pass code is scary enough for him.

So he's used to bringing his phone everywhere, from using it to when he goes to the toilet, to having it close by as he showers.

Unfortunately, on Thursday's morning, he woke up later than usual, so he's rushing, completely forgetting his phone by the night stand.

His second mistake was that he didn't lock his room the night before.

Therefore, as he showers happily, he doesn't realize what is happening in his room.

Heechul slips in quietly, peeking around before noticing the unattended phone. He quickly dashes for it, grabs it, and runs out of the room, before closing the door quietly.

As soon as he comes out, he walks to the kitchen, humming his latest favorite song. He presses the power button and he immediately sees a picture of Yixing on the screensaver.

“Ouhh,” Heechul coos. “Hangeng! Look how cute Jongdae's alpha is.”

The elder runs to his mate, like a naughty child who manages to steal a jar of cookies.

“Look! He's so handsome. Do you think he has an older brother that's as cute as him?” Heechul shows to Hangeng, with a lovesick smile.

“I doubt it, dear,” Hangeng replies before flipping the omelet. “Why are you looking through Jongdae's phone? Does he know that you have it?”

“Ehh, he'll figure it out,” Heechul waves him off before trying to think what kind of pass code would Jongdae uses. 

He pouts childishly once he realizes he's on time out after 3 tries.

“Geng~ help me figure it out!”

“I'm not participating in this.”

“But it's important to me,” Heechul argues. “I have to make sure this alpha is good for Jongdae.”

“I'm sure Minseok already checks that.”

“And I’m sure he did a horrible job at it. Only an omega would be able to tell at first glance if an alpha is nice or not.”

“Oh really?” Hangeng asks, playing along. “What do you think, then? Is he good enough for Jongdae?”

“I don’t know yet,” Heechul slants his eyes at the picture. “He looks sweet, but he might have an evil heart.”

“Of course, dear,” the younger says with a touch sarcasm.

“See….this is why we should have went to New York in August. Why did you have to be busy?” the elder glares. “I’d have been able to meet this Yixing, and see if he’s actually a decent alpha.”

“Yes, I’m sorry for having this annoying job and ruining your scheming plans.”

“As long as you acknowledge it,” Heechul smiles smugly before trying another passcode. Suddenly, the phone buzzes and a video call notification goes through.

“Oh! It’s him! He’s calling!” Heechul tells his mate giddily, before accepting the call.

“Don’t…” Hangeng tries to tell his mate to not accept the call, but Heechul has a mind of his own.

“Hello!! You must be Yixing!” Heechul greets him.

“Oh, hello…” Yixing stares back at him in shock.

“I’m Jongdae’s cousin, Heechul. I’m sure he has talked about me,” the elder grins.

“Ah, yes. Hello,” Yixing smiles. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Wow...your dimple is so pretty...no wonder Jongdae fell for you…” Heechul comments.

“Oh...erm...thank you,” Yixing blushes, unsure of what to say.

“Can you poke it?” the elder randomly asks. “I want to see how deep the dimple is.”

“Heechul,” Hangeng calls out from the side, wondering why his mate is asking weird things.

“Like this?” Yixing pokes his own dimple.

“Yes!” Heechul nods happily. “Wow...you actually have it on both sides. I’m so envious of Jongdae…”

“Why?” Yixing wonders in confusion.

“Because his alpha have dimples, and mine doesn’t.”

“Ahhh….” Yixing chuckles in amusement. “But you have one too, hyung.”

“It doesn’t count,” Heechul denies. “Everyone else’s dimples look so much nicer. I like yours more.”

“Well, I disagree. Yours is the prettiest,” Hangeng comments as he walks closer to Heechul’s side, putting his arm across Heechul’s shoulder. “Hello Yixing. I’m Hangeng, his mate.”

“Ah, hello,” Yixing bows a little. “And I agree! Your dimple is nicer.”

“Don’t agree with him. He’s just saying those things so I don’t kick him to the couch,” Heechul stares at up to his mate, who’s standing next to him.

“He likes to think that I’m exaggerating, but he’s very pretty to me,” Hangeng tells Yixing. “He pretends to hate it, but I know he secretly likes it.”

“He’s drunk. Don’t listen to him,” Heechul says adamantly. 

“Ahh...that sounds like Jongdae sometimes,” Yixing tells them while chuckling.

“I’m sure it’s a Kim thing,” Hangeng grins at him.

Heechul huffs and tries to elbow Hangeng, but the younger dodges. Before Heechul can scold his mate, they hear Jongdae hustling to get ready.

“Hyung, did you take my phone?” Jongdae practically yells from across the hall.

“No!” Heechul immediately lies.

“Jongdae~ Come have breakfast before you leave,” Hangeng tells him, while expertly dodging Heechul’s attacks.

The elder isn’t happy that Jongdae will come into the dining area now.

“I can’t find it…” Jongdae mutters as he enters before noticing his phone on Heechul’s hand. “Hyung! Why did you take it?!”

“It was ringing, so I had to answer it!” Heechul makes up a lie, since he’s still in a video call. “Plus, I wanted to meet Yixing.”

Jongdae grabs the phone in annoyance, and suddenly feels shy as he sees Yixing’s handsome face in the screen.

“Ge…”

“Good morning,” Yixing smiles at him, and Jongdae’s stomach twists at the thought of not being able to hug his alpha.

“Ge, I’ll call you later. I have to yell at my cousin right now.”

“Oh...but he was nice. It’s okay, Jongdae,” Yixing tells him.

“I’m just in a hurry, so I can’t really talk right now. I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Okay,” Yixing pouts. “Bye…”

“Bye,” Jongdae says in a rush before hanging up.

“Tsk tsk,” Heechul comments. “Why are you letting that poor boy suffer? He just wanted to see you before he starts his day.”

“I can’t talk to him with you both here!” Jongdae whines. “Why did you to answer his call?”

“I just wanted to meet him,” Heechul pouts.

“Okay. Let’s calm down,” Hangeng tells them. “Nothing bad happened. We mostly talked about his dimples, and how Heechul is jealous of them.”

“His dimples?”

“They’re so pretty,” Heechul tells him. “Is that how you fell for him? I bet because he looks so cute with it.”

“No!” Jongdae denies. “It’s not about his looks. I like him despite of that.”

“Good, because you should not choose an alpha based on their looks,” Heechul agrees. “But if you do choose one based on their looks, Yixing is the right way to go.”

“Hyung~” Jongdae whines. “Stop it.”

“I’m serious!” Heechul tells him with a grin.

“Anyway, you don’t have to be embarrassed if you want to speak with Yixing,” Hangeng tells him. “You guys miss each other, and that’s normal. You don’t have to be shy about it. Especially if we’ll see Yixing around during your heat.”

“I know!” Jongdae blushes deeply. “It’s just weird to do it openly. Minseok hyung didn’t really let us do that.”

“Minseok is just too protective,” Heechul rolls his eyes. “Don’t worry about that. Just be yourself.”

“Thanks hyung,” Jongdae grins.

 

 

*********

 


End file.
